Chimidoro no Ryu
by Ron Hino
Summary: First Drafts of Chapters 3-6 available for CRITIQUE ONLY! These are not the finished products! I promise!
1. Chapter One

Chimidoro no Ryuu   
  
A Ranma 1/2 Fanfiction by Hino, Ron  
  
Just a brief foreword:   
1. Ranma and friends are owned by Rumiko Takahashi and a bunch of corporations.   
Except for the new characters, everyone else belongs to her and them. I don't   
own them. Please don't take ideas or (my) charactors from this   
story without my permission.  
2. "Chimidoro no Ryuu" means "Bloody Dragon". That would make the full name of   
the School "Chimidoro no Ryuu Ryu" (the other Ryu meaning a school or style of   
martial arts). To avoid the confusion, it will always be written as the   
Chimidoro no Ryuu School, or the shorter Chimidoro school, though in the second   
case it is a reference more to Reiko's family name then the school's title.  
  
And with that out of the way, we begin.  
  
[Tendo Dojo]  
  
It was a pleasant morning in Nerima. The sun was just peeking over the   
horizon, many of the earlier birds were chirping. Many of the Tendo's more   
elderly neighbors were out in their gardens taking in the peace and quiet of a   
beautiful Japanese morning...  
...while they still could  
  
*SPLASH*  
"Dammit, Pop! You always gotta wake me up like that?" Came the angry   
female voice.  
"You're too lazy boy! A martial artist must be ready and alert at all   
times, even while asleep."  
  
Many of the neighbors sighed as the sounds of combat broke the serenity of   
the morning. They went about their day, many of them dreaming of the day when   
they could leave their jobs and enjoy a quiet retirement.   
  
*SPLASH*  
"Then I guess I'll have to surprise _you_ sometime. Anytime in the   
afternoon should be easy, you lethargic furball!"  
"GRAAOR!" A panda growled.  
  
Quiet indeed.   
  
  
Ranma-chan and her transformed father continued to battle until their   
antics managed to raise the rest of the household. With the exception of   
Kasumi, who rose even earlier than the Saotomes, no one bothered to use an alarm   
clock anymore. Genma and son never let any of them sleep beyond 6:05 anyway.  
And so it was that everyone was awake and dressed (and in their normal   
forms) by the time the visitor arrived at precisely 7:00.   
"Open the gate!" An angry voice bellowed. "I am Taiyama Chimidoro of the   
Chimidoro no Ryuu school of martial arts. I've come for Ranma Saotome!"  
"'Chimidoro no Ryuu'? As in 'Bloody Dragon'?" Akane asked, conveniently.   
"Oh wonderful." Nabiki muttered. "Another challenger for Ranma, and I   
didn't even have time to set up a betting pool."  
Soun and Kasumi went to open the gate and greet the visitor, however bad   
his manners.  
"What did you do to THIS guy, Ranma?" Akane asked.   
"Hmm..." Ranma scratched his head. "'Taiyama Chimidoro'... doesn't ring   
a bell. How about you, Pop?" Ranma looked around. "Pop?"  
Genma was found hiding amid the shrubbery as a panda. He munched on the   
leaves of the first plant he reached, attempting to look the normal, innocent   
panda.   
"There you are Mr. Saotome." Nabiki said, attempting to pour hot water on   
him.   
Genma, dodging the brief stream, held up a sign. [I'm just an innocent   
panda eating leaves]  
"Uh huh" Nabiki deadpanned. "And poison leaves at that, at least to   
pandas. Humans have a more advanced digestive system, fortunately."  
Genma spit out the leaves rapidly, and grabbed the kettle and poured it on   
himself.   
"Nabiki..." Kasumi said, coming back from the front door. "Those leaves   
aren't poisonous, even to pandas. They're very easy to digest. I use them   
sometimes, to make herbal tea."  
Genma whirled on Nabiki, glaring accusingly. He made a dash for the pond,   
but Ranma jumped on his head.  
"Oh no you don't. Whoever this guy is, I'm getting the impression that   
this is your fault. You're staying put until I figure this out."  
"Genma, old friend!" The booming voice called out. Everyone turned to   
look.  
The voice belonged to a man who could almost be considered a giant, by   
Japanese standards (and damn big by anyone else's), which made the name 'great   
mountain' all the more fitting. He was tall and broad-shouldered, more so then   
either Genma or Soun. The gi he wore was black, trimmed with red at the collar,   
hem and cuff. Powerful muscles bulged out of the gi at every opportunity. He   
wore his hair cropped short in an army-style cut, which was just beginning to   
grey at the temples, and his closely trimmed black gotee beard only added to his   
overt and conscious aura of menace.  
Everyone else sat down at the table.  
"Genma, it's good to see you after all these years." He said, walking up   
and clapping Genma on the shoulder. Genma was knocked forward a step.   
"Ah... yes, it's good to see you again too, Taiyama-san. Um... how's the   
family?" As soon as the casual question passed his lips, Genma regretted it.  
Taiyama's brow furrowed in a scowl. "My weak wife died under me two years   
after you left. The stupid, weak woman wasn't quite able to handle her wifely   
duties in regards to my needs."  
All three of the Tendo daughters sat up a little straighter. Ranma and   
Soun's mouths dropped open. Ranma suddenly felt glad he was sitting between the   
big man and Akane.   
Genma was the only one not shocked, though Ranma noticed a wince cross his   
father's features, before the nervous grin replaced it.   
"I guess she just wasn't strong enough to handle a real man like you,   
Taiyama-san." He said, laughing weakly.   
"That's what I figured. Anyway, she tried her best, so she got her spot   
in the family plot. I supposed she deserved that much anyway."  
Akane slammed her hands down on the table. "Of course she deserved it!   
How could you even think about dishonoring her like that? Especially after you   
thoughtlessly killed her!"  
The big man frowned at her.  
"Akane, sit down." Soun said firmly.   
"But-"  
"Sit down now." Soun warned. From the look in his eyes, Akane knew he   
was concerned only with her safety. It occurred to her, under her father's   
cautioning gaze, that a man like their visitor might take poorly to being   
reprimanded by a woman, no matter how correct she might be.   
Soun was becoming increasingly worried at having a man like this in the   
house with his daughters. He wanted the man to leave, and waited for a polite   
opportunity to excuse him to present itself. He was relieved when Akane sat   
down.  
"Y-yes father."  
"Ah, at least you have some control over the women in your house."   
Taiyama snickered. "I was beginning to worry, Tendo-san."  
"Yes, well... as their only parent, it is my responsibility to teach my   
daughters good manners." Soun said neutrally.  
"Of course it is. And you seem to be doing better at it than I. All it   
takes from you is a word. I've had rather poor luck in raising my daughter   
alone."  
"A daughter, you say?" Tendo said "And where might the girl be now?   
Tending to your home?" He reasoned that such would be the only place a man like   
this would allow his daughter to be.   
"No, I brought her along. Where the hell is she anyway, still lagging   
behind I suppose? Weak, lazy bitch!"  
Soun cleared his throat. "So you... came ahead of her then?"  
"Certainly. We walked here; no train for the likes of us. I've been   
training her, ever since her mother died, in the Chimidoro no Ryuu style of   
Bujutsu. Since that failure of a woman couldn't give me a son, I had little   
choice if I wanted to continue the school. I've had to train her myself and   
then marry her to another school."  
Akane clutched her hands tightly under table. A failure? Because the   
poor woman didn't bear him a son? And what about his daughter? Leaving her   
behind on foot! And to top it all off, he's going to marry her off to another   
martial arts school. Not to 'the son of my old friend', but a school! He   
probably didn't even care who the guy would be. He was even worse then their   
fathers!   
Ranma was shaking his head in disgust, which the man hadn't noticed. At   
any rate, when he spun towards Ranma the head shaking stopped.  
"Speaking of which, you must be Ranma, right?"  
"Um... yeah. So?"  
Nabiki decided to risk speaking out of turn. "Hold on, are you saying   
that Ranma is the guy from another school that you plan to marry your daughter   
to?"  
"That's exactly what I mean. You're pretty clever for a girl."  
"Coming from a man as obviously brilliant as yourself, that's quite a   
compliment."  
"Ah, right. You're welcome."  
Akane silently applauded her sister. The man had been making verbal   
slights at their gender since he walked in. Trust her clever sister to find   
retribution without alerting him, thus making him appear doubly stupid.   
"Hold it!" Ranma yelled, glaring at his father, but speaking to Taiyama. "I already got-"  
"To go to school! That's it. Yes Ranma, you're already late. Maybe you   
and the girls should get going." Genma said quickly, cutting his son off. Ranma   
looked at him questioningly.   
"Um... right, but I think that, this being so important and all, I think I should stay and hear it all."  
"Well said my boy, well said." Taiyama smiled, slapping Ranma on the back   
(nearly knocking him face-first onto the table). "Education's all well and   
good, but real life is more important than a math class."  
"Sounds as though you've lived your life by that wisdom, Mr. Chimodoro."   
Nabiki smiled.  
"Thank you girl, I have indeed."  
Nabiki 2, Sexist Asshole 0. Akane tried not to grin.  
"So what are you doing here anyway, Genma? I thought you'd be at a dojo   
of your own." Taiyama asked.  
"Um... well... we don't have a dojo of our own just yet. We're still on   
our training journey, but we've settled down for a while here at the home of my   
good friend Soun, to help him with his classes. He has no sons to assist with   
the teaching you know."  
"Ah... I see." Taiyama nodded.  
Akane almost rose from her seat to accost Genma, but a tiny headshake   
convinced her to save it for later. Soun also glared at his friend, wondering   
why he hadn't mentioned the engagement to Akane. The joining of the Tendo and   
Saotome schools was something in which he knew Genma took great pride. He must   
have a good reason for denying it. Soun was patient enough to wait.   
Further conversation was halted as the four martial artists in the room   
heard the sound of a heavy pack thumping quietly to the floor in the front hall.   
No one had heard the shoji doors slide open and closed, which meant that whoever   
was in the hall had manipulated them silently, for a devious purpose. Ranma   
rose to challenge the intruder, but Taiyama put a hand on his shoulder to stop   
him. When Ranma sat down and looked at him quizzically, the big man just put a   
finger in front of his lips for silence. Taiyama took a sip of his tea.   
A blur of red death shot through the doorway. Taiyama rolled to the side   
as the katana sliced through the air he had occupied less then a second ago.   
The blade struck the table and the wood split. The strike was so fast that no   
one, even the experienced Tendos and Genma, were able to save the dishes as they   
crashed together. The teacups and pot were fairly sturdy, but two cups hit   
together a little too fast and broke.   
The girl in the red gi whirled on her father. Her gi was the opposite of   
her fathers, blood red trimmed in black. Her long black hair was tied   
efficiently behind her with an inelegant leather thong. The reflection of her   
red gi off the katana's blade matched the hate in her eyes.  
"Die motherfucker!" She growled, spinning the blade in an expert arc,   
which should have ended just past her father's rib cage.   
Taiyama pulled a sai from the inside of his gi and blocked the deadly   
strike. He quickly twisted the sai and wrenched the blade from her hands. The   
blade landed point-first in the remnants of the table, missing Ranma's arm by   
less then a centimetre. Taiyama smashed a powerful kick into the girl's stomach   
that sent her flying into the wall. She slumped to the ground, clutching her   
stomach.  
"You stupid little bitch! You know you are never to draw our family's   
katana. That blade is for your husband and no other. Until then it is mine! I   
should never have let you carry it."   
"Keep it then, I hope you trip and fall on it!" She choked out.  
He yanked her to her feet and backhanded her viciously across the face.   
Blood flew from her mouth and splattered against the wall. The girl fell to her   
knees, clutching her bleeding lip. Glaring hatefully up at him.   
Taiyama sighed. "This isn't really introduction I was hoping for my boy,   
but thanks to this little slut, this is how it comes to be. Ranma, allow me to   
introduce your fiancée, Reiko."  
Ranma blinked, and his mouth worked with no sound. The girl's hateful   
glare shifted from her father to him. Ranma found that he didn't like being on   
the receiving end of those angry eyes.   
Akane clasped her hands, rubbing them together, not quite knowing what to   
do with them. She was torn between jealousy and pity for this girl. She did   
her best to keep her feelings from her face.   
Reiko nodded her head toward the sword sticking in the table beside the   
stunned Ranma.   
"I guess it's yours then. May it never find you in the night." She   
smirked grimly.   
The veiled threat seemed to escape Taiyama. "No, girl. The sword is not   
his yet. Not until you marry. It's your dowry, as is the school."   
"Lucky me."  
"Greet your future husband appropriately, girl." Taiyama growled.   
"I just met him. Can't I castrate him later?"   
Taiyama growled and slammed a roundhouse kick into her floating ribs as   
she sat nursing her injuries. She grunted, not daring to scream. "Do it now,   
you disrespectful little whore!"  
Fighting down the urge to vomit, Reiko kneeled and placed her forehead to   
the floor in front of Ranma. "It is an... honor to meet you... future husband.   
She gasped, between sucking breaths.   
"I... ah... Thank you." Ranma stammered.   
"Well, I know she isn't much boy --not strong enough to be a boy, and not   
feminine enough to be a woman. Not that good-looking either-- but she'll serve   
you well."   
Akane thought Reiko was very attractive, she just wasn't certain how she   
felt about that. It was difficult to stay angry with a person be savagely   
beaten right in front of your eyes.  
Ranma saw Reiko begin to shake. Was it the pain? No, it was probably   
rage. She kept her head on her hands, maintaining the proper position of   
supplication.   
"Um... I don't really need a... a servant. I basically take care of   
myself."  
"That's alright. She'll take good care of you in bed too, isn't that   
right dear?"  
Reiko's shaking hands curled into tight fists.   
"I'd rather fuck a goat." Reiko growled quietly. Taiyama bent down and   
smashed a fist into her kidney. Reiko began to vomit.   
"What was that?" Taiyama growled.  
She needed a moment to stop the convulsions of her stomach. Her voice   
rasped when she replied.  
"I will serve my husband's wishes, even in the bedroom." The last part   
held more venom then Ranma had ever heard from a woman, or any man for that   
matter. He could almost feel 'little Ranma' trying to hide like a frightened   
turtle.  
"Good girl. Now get up and clean up that puke."   
"Yes father." She muttered   
"You're going to work in the Tendo dojo too, teaching classes until you   
earn enough at half minimum wage to pay them back for the table you broke.   
Maybe you can teach the kid's classes or something."  
Reiko rose. She didn't look at all happy with the idea of teaching at the   
beginning level.  
"Yes father." She said, leaving to search for a cloth to clean up her   
vomit. Under her breath, she muttered "Asshole."  
"What was that?" her father roared. He grabbed her retreating gi and   
slammed her against the wall. He pulled back a fist to strike her when Ranma   
caught it.   
"That's enough!" Ranma cried.   
Taiyama blinked at him, more surprised than angry. "Of course, you're   
right." He said.   
Ranma sighed in relief, he had hoped this wouldn't escalate into a fight.   
"She's your fiancée now, it's your place to discipline her when she is   
disrespectful."  
"WHAT?"  
"You hit her then."  
"NO!"  
"Look boy, if I'm going to leave her here, I've got to know that you've   
got what it takes to keep you wife in line. If she's going to be kicking YOUR   
ass, then you're only encouraging her bad behavior. I'll have to look for   
another husband for her if you're too weak."  
"Maybe that would be the be- ah? Akane?" Akane had grabbed Ranma and   
pulled him to the side, whispering in his ear.   
"Ranma! If he's looking for a husband who will treat her like he does,   
then he's not going to stop until he finds one. What if the next one he finds   
is just like him? Or worse, what if he never finds one. Then she'll stay with   
him, and he'll beat her even worse for making herself hard to be rid of."  
Ranma considered this for a minute. "Are you saying you want me to beat   
her?"  
Akane hesitated. "No. Not exactly. All you have to do is look like you   
can keep her in line. Just make sure you don't go over the top."  
Ranma nodded. He turned back to Taiyama, who was looking at him with a   
raised eyebrow, still holding his daughter against the wall.   
"Alright then, I'm up for a challenge match. I'll fight her and win." He   
looked the bloody girl up and down. "But I want a fair match. How about this;   
we'll set the match for tomorrow morning. That should give her some time to   
rest up and heal."  
"Good plan boy." Taiyama nodded. "She has been more insolent than usual   
today. We'll do as you say." He turned and shoved his scowling daughter higher   
up the wall. "And when you lose, girl, I expect you do be a dutiful wife to   
him." He pressed forward, squeezing her into the wall.  
"Ahem." Ranma interrupted. "And in order to make sure she's in top   
condition for the fight, I'd like you to not lay a hand on her, no matter what   
she says or does. Do we have a deal?"  
Taiyama looked at him, then reluctantly dropped his daughter to the floor.   
"Fair enough boy, she's yours now." He turned back to where she had crumpled to   
the floor. "But get on with cleaning up your mess!"  
Saying nothing, Reiko painfully forced herself to her feet and once again   
began looking for the kitchen.   
"Mr. Chimidoro?" Akane asked carefully. "I'm a girl, so I understand the   
way Reiko thinks, perhaps a little better than a very... masculine sort of man  
like yourself."  
Taiyama cocked his head, listening. Akane moved closer, speaking quieter.  
"I was thinking that it might create a better impression on her future husband   
and father-in-law if she were to insult you less. Perhaps she would feel less   
inclined to do so with you not present. Ranma might be more likely to accept   
her, therefore, if you were to wisely spend the night in a hotel or something of   
that nature?"  
"What are you saying?" Taiyama frowned. Apparently he wasn't quite as   
dumb as Akane thought. His glare made Akane take a step back.  
"My daughter is trying to find a polite and face-saving way to tell you   
what I should have told you even before your daughter arrived." Soun Tendo   
said, rising to his full height, pulling Akane gently behind him.   
"Father!" Kasumi said, slightly alarmed.  
"I am Soun Tendo of the Tendo School of Anything Goes Martial Arts, owner   
of this house and dojo, and father to the girl you are attempting to frighten.   
I want you to leave." Soun said firmly. "Now."  
Taiyama folded his arms and stared at the smaller man with condescending   
amusement. "And why might that be? Am I not welcome in your home?"  
"No." Soun said with finality. "You may be Genma's friend, but you are   
not mine. You barely bothered to introduce yourself when we met at my door;   
making demands before even saying hello. You come into my home and frighten my   
daughters, you ignore your host, and you behave in a manner that is an insult to   
the very concept of Bushido. That such as you are the head of your school is a   
shame on that name. I will not have you remain any longer to associate your   
dishonourable mannerisms with the name of my dojo.   
"Your daughter is welcome here, so long as she behaves better than you.   
You may, of course, return tomorrow to view the match, but regardless of the   
outcome, you will be gone from my property before that morning has passed into   
afternoon. I insist the same of you today. By noon tomorrow, I never wish to   
see your face at my dojo, ever again."  
Taiyama frowned threateningly at Soun. "Big words. And if I refuse to   
leave?"  
Soun didn't falter. "It is quite possible that you could defeat me in   
hand-to-hand combat, but such a battle would only increase your disgrace, and   
would bring no shame to myself. I would only be defending the honour of my   
dojo, and family."  
Taiyama remained silent for a long time. Then he slowly nodded, speaking   
through tight lips. "If it is your wish, I will leave your dojo, to return   
tomorrow to see whether or not my daughter has a husband to suit her. Then as   
per your wishes, I will leave and never again burden your hospitality with my   
presence. If young Ranma wins and becomes my son-in-law, I can visit him and my   
daughter, and perhaps later my grandson, when Genma establishes his own dojo.   
Is this satisfactory?" He snarled with slight sarcasm.   
"Quite." Soun said curtly.   
"In that case I will say my good-byes to the lot of you, I'll see you all   
tomorrow at 7:00 sharp." He turned to leave. Soun did not move from his   
position between the man and his daughters until Taiyama had left the grounds.   
At the doorway, Taiyama stopped and smiled over his shoulder. "It's a   
good thing you have a strong backbone, Tendo-san. Otherwise I might have broken   
it in half."   
Soun, recognizing the man's need to have the last word in order to save   
face after such a dressing down, simply nodded to acknowledge the   
compliment/threat.   
Then Taiyama left. The entire room breathed a sigh of relief.   
"I have to admit, you certainly are a brave and honorable man." Reiko   
said. She was leaning in the other doorway, washcloth in hand. She had   
listened to the entire thing.  
"You were amazing Dad!" Akane smiled.   
Soun suddenly looked embarrassed, rubbing the back of his head and   
grinning like a fool. "Yes... well..."  
"I agree." Nabiki smirked. "I almost didn't recognize the man who   
regularly cowers before Happosai's frown."  
"Nabiki!" Kasumi said disapprovingly. "That wasn't very nice."  
"Oh all right. Well done Daddy."  
Soun laughed magnanimously. "Yes well, Reiko my dear, welcome to our   
little home. You're safe here."  
"Hmm." Reiko said noncommittally, glancing at Ranma. "I don't know if   
I'd agree with that, but I'll take it in the spirit it was offered." She pushed   
herself off the wall and made to clean her mess on the floor.   
"Hey! Look, you've got the wrong idea. I'm not going to make you..."   
Ranma trailed of when she grunted in pain as she bent down. "Um.. here, let me   
help you with that."  
Reiko slapped his hand away. "Wait for it." She said with a small smile.  
"Huh?"  
Taiyama reentered the living room, looking flushed. He snatched his   
family sword from the table and slid it into the scabbard he'd retrieved from   
his daughter's pack. He nodded approvingly at the sight of his daughter   
scrubbing the spot on the floor, then left without a word.   
"He forgot his sword?" Nabiki smirked.  
"Didn't even say goodbye to his daughter." Akane muttered, disgusted.  
"I'm certainly not going to cry about it." Reiko said, groaning her way   
to her feet. She turned to Soun. "My father is right about one thing, I owe   
you for the table. I could be of help teaching classes, or if you prefer, by   
some other means."  
"Oh don't worry about the table." Kasumi insisted. "It's been broken 4   
times before just this year." She took the cloth from Reiko's hand, and used a   
clean part of it to wipe the blood spurt from the wall. Reiko stepped forward   
to stop her, but just paused and smiled.   
"Sounds like dinner can become quite interesting around here."  
"You don't know the half of it." Nabiki smirked.  
"Hmm. That reminds me, we haven't been properly introduced. My name, of   
course, is Reiko Chimidoro. It is an honour to meet you, Mr. Tendo." She said   
politely.   
"The honour is ours. These are my three daughters, Kasumi, Nabiki and   
Akane." Each smiled and gave a slight bow to the bleeding girl in front of   
them. Reiko smiled and bowed in return.   
"And this," Soun continued, "Is my old friend Genma Saotome, and of course   
his son Ranma."  
Reiko gave Genma only the briefest of nods, and ignored Ranma completely.   
Genma and Ranma looked at each other. They wisely said nothing.   
Kasumi broke the awkward silence. "Could I get you the First Aid kit?   
You seem to be bleeding a fair bit."   
"Oh yes. That was going to be my first request. Thank you very much."   
Ranma set himself to appraising this girl's personality. She was very   
polite to the Tendos, but her manner wasn't subservient; it was calm, confident.   
The girl had plenty of backbone too. She could have done everything her father   
had said right from the beginning, but that would have let him think he had   
complete control over her. She was willing to trade severe physical punishment   
for her pride. He had to admire that. She was less polite to him and his   
father, him especially, but before he decided to explain it all to her, he   
wanted his father to explain it all to him. He wanted to know exactly how the   
old man had gotten mixed up with a monster like Taiyama Chimidoro, to say   
nothing of getting Ranma engaged to his daughter!  
Then there was the look in her eyes when Reiko had come through the door,   
katana in hand. Her eyes showed a woman completely committed to the blow, ready   
to kill, bloodthirsty even. The hate in that look caused Ranma to shiver.  
Kasumi had returned with the First Aid kit. Reiko took it from her hands.   
"Thank you. I'll tend to myself. Do you mind if I use your bathroom?"  
"Certainly." Kasumi said. "Are you sure you don't need help?"  
"No thank you. I've had plenty of practice at this."  
No one disbelieved her.  
"Oh," Reiko paused as she went in search of the bathroom, "do you mind if   
I take a shower and bath as well?"  
"Go right ahead my dear." Soun said. "Our home is yours."  
Reiko smiled. "Thank you, Tendo-san."  
  
As soon as she left, Ranma had his father by the collar.   
"All right old man! What the hell's going on?"  
Genma looked left and right for an escape route. Not finding one, he   
sighed and began his tale...  
"It was a long time ago, back when you were only four. I came across an   
ancient dojo hidden in the mountains. The sign on the gate told me I had at   
last found the fabled Chimidoro no Ryuu School, or 'Bloody Dragon school of   
martial arts'."  
"I ain't never heard of them before today." Ranma said.  
"You aren't old enough to have heard of them." Soun said. "They began   
well over 200 years ago; a group of Samurai with similar beliefs banded together   
and built their own dojo, far from the 'corrupting' influence of other schools   
of martial philosophy. Their motto was, 'Our enemies deserve nothing but a   
bloody death.' They trained themselves in the most violent and destructive   
techniques known, and are said to have created several more on their own. They   
were so brutal and effective, several daimyo frequently hired them to eliminate   
entire families of ninja. Their brutal 'no mercy' philosophy stretches even the   
most generous limits of Bushido."  
"Indeed, my old friend." Genma said sadly. "But the lure of those   
powerful techniques, unknown anywhere else in the world, led me to beg them for   
training. Of course, in modern times, their group has grown smaller. In fact,   
there was only one family still practicing their brutal art when I found the   
dojo. The descendent of the original founder of the Bloody Dragon school:   
Taiyama Chimidoro.  
"I begged him for training, but he refused. He said it was not the   
business of his school to train the weak. Naturally, I challenged him to show   
him just how strong I was. He beat me easily, and I was so badly hurt I was   
bedridden for many days. Fortunately he and his family took care of me while I   
recovered. His wife was very kind to little Ranma, and let him play with their   
5-year-old daughter, Reiko.   
"When I recovered, Taiyama said he was impressed with my determination, if   
not my skills. He offered me a bargin: He would teach me _one_ of his school's   
special techniques, if I would agree to marry Ranma to his daughter when they   
came of age. He wanted a male heir to his school, and it seemed his wife was no   
longer able to bear children. The way he treated her, I figured out why pretty   
quickly. In any case, I was so desperate to learn the technique, to not leave   
empty-handed as it were, that I agreed. I figured that I would learn it, and   
then disappear, so he'd never be able to collect on our bargain. I told him   
nothing of my friend Tendo, or of the engagement to his daughters. I have no   
idea how he found me."  
"So what was the technique?" Akane asked.  
"You know how that one time, the Master was able to use his ki to grow two   
stories high, and I challenged him and did the same?"  
"Yeah, Pop. That was pretty impressive... right until you both shrunk and   
pitched forward on your faces." Ranma said.  
"Anyway, that was the technique. How ironic that I could have just as   
easily learned it from the Master."  
Everyone fell over.  
Soun shook his head. "Saotome... I don't know what to say to you."  
Ranma threw Genma outside. "Well I do! What the hell were you thinking   
you stupid old man?"  
Genma landed in the pond, turning into a panda. A moment later, a red-  
headed girl was in the pond with him, beating the living crap out of the   
frightened animal.  
  
Reiko studied her handiwork in the bathroom mirror. There hadn't really   
been much to be done. Her cut lip couldn't really be bandaged, and had stopped   
bleeding anyway. There was a small cut on her temple, which she couldn't really   
explain. Perhaps the backhand blow, or maybe something had nicked her as she   
had been knocked around the room. She didn't know and it didn't make much   
difference. The large bruises were already too far developed for ice to help   
much, and besides, she couldn't very well be walking around with an icepack over   
her face, or on the really ugly ones on her abdomen and around her left side.   
She supposed she could lie down and put a bag of ice over her face, but she   
couldn't afford to appear weak...  
Especially in front of her would-be husband.   
As she sat down on the stool to shower, the outer door slid open. Reiko   
looked up to see a silhouette through the screen. Perhaps her "husband" had   
decided to get a free peak before he committed to buying the goods. Maybe he   
even wanted a free sample. Reiko heard the sound of clothes being pulled off.   
A sample.  
Reiko was quite willing to give him a taste of their future marriage, if   
one occurred. She picked up the cloth and dipped it in the water, twisting it   
into a tight, thin strip. She tested its strength in her hands by pulling it   
tight. Yes, this would make a fine garrote.  
"Rei-chan, do you mind if I join you?" A kind feminine voice drifted   
through the door. Reiko recognized it as Akane's. She quickly tossed the cloth   
away.  
"Come in if you like, but only if you want to see how badly bruised the   
rest of my body is." Reiko said.   
Akane's hand hesitated on the screen handle, then she steeled herself,   
forced a friendly smile on her face and pushed it open. She stopped short as   
Reiko's full body came into view.  
The girl's stomach was almost entirely black and blue, in varying shades   
from today's and less recent blows. Around her left side, which faced Akane,   
she could see the recent bruising over Reiko's ribs and kidney. There were   
other bruises on her forearms and legs, which were likely from training. All   
the same, that she even had them told Akane that her father hadn't pulled any   
punches, ever.   
Reiko smiled sadly. "I warned you."  
Akane realized she was staring. She blushed. "I-I'm sorry."  
Reiko waved it off. "Normal enough reaction."   
She turned on the shower. Akane saw her wince as the jets of hot water   
stabbed into her bruised flesh. Other than that, she made no sound as she   
thoroughly cleaned herself. The obvious familiarity of the routine made it even   
sadder for Akane to watch.   
Akane pulled up the spare stool and sat beside Reiko. When Reiko was done   
rinsing, Akane took the showerhead and rinsed, while Reiko used the soap. Reiko   
refrained from using the abrasive cloth on her damaged areas, choosing to rub   
the smooth bar of soap directly against her skin as opposed to the coarse cloth.   
It was slightly less hygienic, since the whole household used the same bar, but   
Akane wasn't about to say anything. Besides, how exactly can you get soap   
dirty?  
Eventually Reiko rinsed the soap free with a bucket of warm water   
(normally cold was used, but Reiko didn't want to feel the temperature   
difference on her sensitive bruises more than she had to). To keep her from   
being embarrassed, Akane used a warm bucket herself a few minutes later.   
Reiko took a long time to sink herself into the hot water, the expression   
of silent pain never left her features until she'd been under almost a full   
minute. Then her body relaxed, and her head slumped back against the edge, her   
eyes closed in relaxation.   
Of course, most other people smile when they're comfortably relaxed.   
Akane thought about Reiko's battered body as she slipped in silently.   
Reiko shifted up to make room, leaning her head against the wall instead. Akane   
thought Reiko was quite attractive, both in face and figure, and that only made   
what her father did to her seem even worse. She wondered idly if that were part   
of the cause.   
"Rei-chan?"  
Reiko opened her eyes and smiled politely, showing that she wasn't asleep.   
"I need to tell you something about Ranma." Reiko's smile faded a bit.  
"So go ahead."  
"Um... Ranma and I... are engaged."  
Reiko's eyebrows went up. "Really? Well then, I guess our challenge   
match is nothing more than that. I don't have to marry him then?"  
Akane nodded. "That's more or less it."   
"Hmm. It occurs to me now, that he didn't say anything about marrying me   
after the match, just about it being a fair fight and all. He worded it   
carefully. Okay then, I guess I don't need to hurt him too bad tomorrow, if the   
stakes are lower. Relax, your fiancée will be fine. And I'll be back on the   
road with Pop before noon tomorrow." She closed her eyes again.   
"No no. You don't understand. I asked Ranma to go ahead and convince   
your father to engage the two of you."  
That brought Reiko sitting up straight (a movement which she briefly   
regretted).  
"Why the hell would you do a thing like that?"  
Akane, who had been expecting thanks, stuttered a minute before answering.   
"I... well... We figured that if you fought Ranma and lost, your father would   
consider you engaged and leave, and you could stay here with us (with the   
understanding that you're not seriously one of Ranma's fiancées)."  
Reiko looked at her warily. "Not to sound ungrateful, but what if I don't   
wish to stay?"  
"Well, then you could leave, of course. You wouldn't be a prisoner; you   
could come and go as you pleased. Well there is... How old are you?"  
"17." Reiko said cautiously, sensing a catch.  
"Well then, if you choose to stay, our father would probably insist you go   
to school. Beyond that, your life is yours." Akane leaned forward, taking   
Reiko's hand and looking meaningfully into Reiko's hard, distrustful eyes. "And   
no one would ever hit you again."  
Reiko was quiet for a time. "And what would you want from me in return?"  
Akane was confused. "What do you mean?"  
"What do I need to do for you, for you to do this for me? Sex slave to   
Ranma perhaps? Or maybe your father?"  
"WHAT? How could you even think such a thing?"  
The tension in Reiko's shoulders relaxed. "Sorry, just testing.   
Incidentally, you passed: I believe you."  
Akane looked at her strangely. She had to remind herself that this girl   
probably wasn't used to trusting anybody, much less someone she had only met an   
hour ago.   
Reiko broke the silence. "So tell me how you intend to fool my father."  
"Well... you just fight Ranma and lose. What's so complicated about   
that?"  
"Plenty. For one thing, my father's quite familiar with my skills. If   
he thinks I'm pulling punches, he'll call the whole thing. For this to work,   
I'd have to fight Ranma with everything I've got."  
"Well, I don't _think_ that should be a problem."  
Reiko raised an eyebrow. "I think it will be. Tell me about his   
training."  
  
***  
  
Ranma came home from school (having gone to his afternoon classes, as did   
Nabiki and Akane) to find Reiko waiting for him in the living room. Her   
expression was blank.  
"Um... look about this morning..."  
"Akane told me everything, Ranma. I'm sorry I misjudged you." She   
gestured to the second cup of hot tea set at the table. "Have a seat." Her   
words were polite, but had no inflection. Ranma sat down.   
"Yeah... well, I just couldn't stand to watch that jerk hit you anymore.   
I mean, not right in front of us!" Reiko raised an eyebrow.  
"Are you saying it would have been okay if he only hit me in private?"  
"N-No! Of course not. It's just that... I had no excuse not to act, is   
all." He looked into her calm eyes and couldn't seem to figure out what to do   
with his hands. The flat, emotionless, unblinking stare was unnerving. "Not   
that I was looking for one. Y'know, at first I thought it was training. Pop   
and me get kind of physical in our arguments, but your father takes it too far.   
And the reasons are different too. If me and Pop weren't in training, I know we   
wouldn't argue half as much."   
"You're babbling, Ranma." Reiko said calmly.  
"Um... right. So what did you want to talk about?"  
"The fight."  
"Right. Don't worry, I'll take it easy on you."  
"You damn well better not!"  
"Huh?"  
"In order to trick my father, I'm going to have to give it my all. In   
order to _survive_, you're going to have to give it your all too."  
"I... everything I've got?"  
Reiko nodded. "Everything. Even your special techniques: the Kachu   
Tenshin Amaguriken, the Hiryuushyoten ha, the Mouko Takabisha, and any anything   
else you feel the need to pull out of the air. You're not fighting an amateur   
you know. You're fighting someone a lot like yourself. Someone who's spent her   
entire life training in Martial arts. Someone who's got special techniques of   
her own. Got it?"  
"I... think so."  
"You better _know_ so. I'm going in there and giving it my all. If you   
don't do the same..." Reiko leaned forward, her nose inches from his. "I'll   
kill you."  
Ranma gulped. "Don't you think that's a bit excessive?"  
Reiko nodded. "I have no choice. My father would be able to tell if I   
wasn't trying my hardest. He has to think that I sincerely don't want to marry   
you, and he has to think that you will keep me 'under control' and 'in my place'   
after he leaves."  
Ranma looked at the ground for a moment, then nodded. "I understand."  
"Just don't kill me, and I'll be fine. You know I can take a beating."  
"Yeah... I know."  
  
***  
  
The fighters stood facing each other at a respectable distance in the   
dojo. The Tendos, Genma and Taiyama sat off to the side. Tendo and Genma made   
a point of sitting between the big man and the girls. Reiko looked a little   
better, though her face was still swollen. Akane knew the deep bruises on her   
abdomen couldn't have healed much either. Reiko gave no sign of discomfort.   
Ranma wore his white, Karate gi, and Reiko her blood-red, trimmed in   
black. They stretched casually, keeping their eyes on one another. Reiko   
finished stretching and cracked her knuckles. Kasumi blinked and whispered   
something about it not being very feminine. Ranma seemed slightly surprised by   
the action as well. Both fighters stood at the ready.   
Nabiki rose, it usually being her duty in official matches like this one.  
"Nothing short of a complete knockout, all strikes, chokes, and bone-  
breaks and other techniques are legal. Just don't kill each other." She   
muttered the last to herself. "Fighters ready?" She raised her hand in the   
air.  
Ranma and Reiko took fighting stances.  
"Prepare to bleed, little boy." Reiko growled, keeping up the act.  
"Keep shooting off your mouth," Ranma grinned, "It'll be that much more   
satisfying when I close it." Behind her, Reiko heard her father chuckle   
approvingly at Ranma's response.  
"Hajime!" Nabiki dropped her hand and quickly got out of the way.   
Reiko grabbed her and spun, sending Nabiki sprawling in Ranma's direction.  
"H-hey!" Nabiki shrieked.   
"What the..." Ranma caught her. Reiko was in the air, sailing down with a   
vicious kick that landed on Ranma's open sternum. He fell with a grunt. Nabiki   
scrambled away, not wanting to become part of another tactic.   
"That's cheating!" Akane yelled.   
"No rules, remember girl?" Taiyama smirked. "Ranma! Don't let her   
distract you like that again!"  
"Shouldn't you be cheering your daughter?"  
"What the hell for? I want her to lose. Otherwise I'm stuck supporting   
her until I can find a husband tougher than her."   
Akane gave him a glance of utter disgust, which he missed as he was   
intently watching the fight.  
Ranma recovered quickly, not wasting breath by crying "cheater!' He   
rolled into a dragon-tail sweep, which Reiko easily avoided.   
They parried back and forth, neither able to gain an advantage. Then   
Reiko landed a blow to his solar plexus. Ranma doubled over in pain. Reiko hit   
harder than any girl he'd ever known, even Akane.   
Reiko took advantage of his hesitation and slammed her heel into his   
lowered chin. Ranma fell on his back, dizzy. Reiko waited calmly, to see if he   
would pass out, taking her freedom with him into darkness. Ranma pulled himself   
back to his feet, shaking his head to clear it. The two squared off again.  
Ranma waggled a finger, and Reiko attacked. He defended against her every   
attack, backing away and dancing around the room... No! He was dancing around   
and around and around the room, in a spiral! He was planning to use the   
Hiryuushoten ha.  
Akane had described the technique to Reiko yesterday in the bath, so the   
girl began to suspect something when she realized she was being led around in   
circles. She wondered what a counter to such a move might be, and if she even   
wanted to use it.  
Ranma gave the final blow (yelling the technique name for some stupid   
reason) and a small tornado was created around him, sending Reiko up into the   
ceiling. Knowing it was coming, Reiko managed to brace her feet against the   
ceiling, but the winds still sapped at her strength. She quickly crawled along   
the ceiling, out of the tornado's scope, and flipped back down to the ground.   
The Hiryuushoten ha dissipated. Ranma turned to face her, panting slightly.   
Reiko chuckled. "So, time for special techniques is it? Good. Then feel   
my Ryuunotsume!"  
"'Ryuunotsume'?" Nabiki asked. "'Talons of the Dragon?'"  
"Shit." Taiyama growled. "Oh well, I guess now we see what the boy's   
really made of."  
Reiko focused her mind, dropping into a low stance and moving her hands   
meditatively. It almost looked like Tai chi. Ranma watched carefully.  
"Your son's not to bright, Genma old friend." Taiyama muttered. "If he   
were smart, he'd attack her while she's still forming the technique."  
Reiko let out a powerful kiai, flexing her fingers in front of her.   
"Too late." Taiyama muttered.  
Reiko dashed forward, striking out with her open hand. Her little finger   
was curled, the rest extended. Ranma blocked. He screamed as blood fountained   
from three deep cuts in his forearm. He jumped back and clutched his injured   
arm protectively.   
"What?" Akane cried. "Did she claw him with her fingernails?"  
"Hah!" Taiyama barked. "Fingernails can't do that much damage. The   
Ryuunotsume uses the bodies own ki and extends it beyond the body through the   
pads of the finders, at right angles to the finger bone. Reiko can only create   
invisible ki 'talons' about an inch long, but that's usually more than enough."  
Reiko charged again, but Ranma was keeping his distance. He had to think.   
Her hands were too fast to risk getting closer, he wondered if the Mouko   
Takabisha would help. On the other hand, Reiko seemed to know about it, so it   
might not turn the tables as much as wanted.  
"Oh my!" Kasumi said, bringing a hand to her face in concern. "It   
doesn't look like Ranma's going to win."  
Akane stomach knotted, if Ranma lost, then Reiko would have to go back to   
that monster of a father. And Ranma could be seriously hurt here, maybe even   
killed. Guilt tormented her as she lifted her hands to her mouth.  
"Ranma! Hit her in the stomach! She's still sore there!"  
Taiyama looked at her, raising an impressed eyebrow.   
Reiko's mouth dropped open in shock. Akane's heart almost broke at that   
expression of betrayal.   
Ranma had hesitated enough. Now he rolled under Reiko's frozen guard.  
"KACHU TENSHIN AMAGURIKEN!" A hundred punches slammed into Reiko's tender   
middle in five seconds.   
Reiko's eyes filled with tears of pain, though she made no sound as she   
fell to her knees, clutching her middle. Blackness swarmed in front of her   
eyes, but her hard-won toughness kept her from passing out completely. She   
remained upright.  
"Ranma!" Nabiki called. "Remember, you need a complete knockout to win."  
Ranma inwardly cursed. This fight was over, and everyone knew it.   
"I'm sorry Reiko." He whispered, drawing back a fist.  
Reiko barely felt it connect. There was only a brief flash of new pain, then darkness.  
  
***  
  
The darkness became less so. Blending into a kind of red-black mix that   
she eventually recognized as light seen through her eyelids. She heard voices.   
"How much longer will she be unconscious Doctor?" She knew that voice;   
female, worried.  
"I'm not sure. Shouldn't be too much longer. She'll wake when her body's   
ready." No idea who that guy was. He sounded older. Didn't the other person   
call him doctor?  
"Hmm." A third voice, male, familiar. There was a name she could attach   
to it. What was it?  
"I'm more concerned about her more permanent injuries." Doctor's voice.  
"Permanent injuries?" The younger male voice again. He sounded worried.   
"There's a lot of serious bruising on her abdomen. It looks like a lot of   
repeated blows."  
"Well... I had to hit her a lot... I... ah..."  
"No, you don't understand. I mean she's been hit there, again and again,   
over a long period of time, without time to heal in between. It's caused   
gradual damage to occur to her internal reproductive organs."  
"You mean..." The female voice.   
"I'd need to do more tests, but I don't think she will ever be able to   
have children."  
"Oh my God..." The girl gasped, horrified. The younger male voice   
growled a curse. She couldn't understand what they were talking about. She   
knew his name. Dammit! What was it? Ra-something. Ra- Ran-  
"Ranma?" That was her own voice. The guy's name was Ranma.  
"Oh! She's waking up!" The first voice again. It's Akane.   
  
Reiko opened her eyes. Blinding light hurt them.   
Akane leaned over her. "Rei-chan, are you alright?"  
"Where am I?"  
"This is the local clinic." Ranma said. He pointed to an older man (not   
much older, about 25, Reiko thought) with a ponytail and glasses. "This is   
Doctor Tofu. He took care of you."  
The Doctor smiled. "Not a whole lot to take care of. Just ointment for   
the bruises, and some tests that all came back fine (more or less). Bandaging   
Ranma's arm was more complicated. As I hear, you were responsible for that,   
eh?"  
Reiko smiled grimly as she sat up slowly. She saw Ranma's arm now,   
wrapped up in white cloth. "Don't complain, Doctor, I'm keeping you in   
business."  
Dr. Tofu cocked his head to the side. "To be honest, I'd be happier being   
a beggar on the streets and having everyone healthy and sound."  
Akane came to the side of the bed. "Rei-chan, I'm so sorry. I should   
have kept my mouth shut."  
"Don't worry about it. I'll tell you the same thing I told Ranma   
yesterday. If I'm alive, I'm fine with it."  
"Hmm." Dr. Tofu rubbed his chin. "Maybe so, but I'd really prefer you   
not cut it any closer. I want you to stay in bed, here, for another few days."   
"Nonsense." Reiko snapped. "I'm fine. I'll just be a little slower for   
a bit." She swung her legs around to the side of the bed, an action which   
brought immense pain. Dr. Tofu and the others watched as her pupils dilated   
with pain.   
"Beginning to see my point?" The doctor chuckled. "Here, I'll help you   
back in." He grasped her legs by the ankles and lifted them back to the bed.   
Reiko had begun to protest, but stopped abruptly as the movement brought   
more pain, less than before, but still significant. She slumped back onto her   
pillow in defeat. "Great. I can't believe I have to spend two whole days in   
bed."  
"Three." Dr. Tofu corrected gently. "At least."  
"Three? Wonderful. I'll be bored stiff, not to mention my muscles will   
get soft."  
"You won't notice much muscle degradation in so short a time." Dr. Tofu   
assured her.  
"Don't worry about it." Akane said cheerfully. "I'll come visit when   
school's over every day. I'll keep you company."  
Reiko grinned. "And will Mr. Fiancée be visiting me too?"  
Ranma looked a little uncomfortable. "Um... sure."  
"Speaking of which, you seem to be taking this whole engagement thing pretty calmly."  
Ranma leaned back. "Ah well, the way I figure it; what's one more?"  
Reiko looked at him oddly. "'One more?'"  
  
***  
  
End of Chapter One.  
  
  
Author's last words. (hmm... maybe not the best pun...)  
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
I think I've already gone through the first three parts of this story   
pressing Enter after every line and have come to the conclusion that it's pretty   
damn annoying! If chapters after #3 aren't wordwraped, (or if I missed a spot)   
keep this in mind:   
It takes me almost half an hour to prepare one of these chapters to be   
viewed on your webbrowser (and these ones are only about 15 pages!) it takes you   
about 5 seconds to go to the file menu, click [save as...] and save it on your   
own computer so you can read it in MS Word or whatever you use. I'm not doing   
this crap again!   
On a friendlier note, send all Comments and Criticisms to   
hinoron@hotmail.com and I'll respond within a few days. I know more about Japan   
then most people (other than the Japanese, obviously) but I certainly don't know   
everything. Please let me know if I've screwed up, or not explained something   
well enough.  
Let me head off this criticism right now, though: The spelling of the   
English language vs. the spelling of the American language that appears similar   
to English. I'm trying my hardest to use the proper spellings, as have been   
handed down through the history of English literature before the United States   
was colonized. It's also damn difficult to do so because of my @#$#% US English   
spellchecker. If you see Bill Gates, kick his ass for me (come on, you know you   
want to)!  
  
Ja na!  
Ron Hino.  



	2. Chapter Two

Chimidoro no Ryuu   
Chapter 2  
  
A Ranma 1/2 Fanfiction by Hino, Ron  
  
  
Just a brief foreword:   
1. Ranma and friends are owned by Rumiko Takahashi and a bunch of corporations.   
Except for the new characters, everyone else belongs to her and them. I don't   
own them. Please don't take ideas or (my) characters from this story without my   
permission.  
2. "Chimidoro no Ryuu" means, loosely translated (by which I mean, badly   
translated) "Bloody Dragon". That would make the full name of the School   
"Chimidoro no Ryuu Ryu". To avoid the confusion, it will always be written as   
the Chimidoro no Ryuu School, or the shorter Chimidoro school, though in the   
second case it is a reference more to Reiko's family name then the school's   
title.  
And with that out of the way, we begin again.  
  
  
Reiko was sleeping. It was a peaceful experience, where no nightmares   
plagued her, no dreams. Her favorite kind of sleep.   
A hand touched her shoulder. Her right hand grabbed the wrist as her left   
found the elbow joint and locked it.  
Then she woke up.   
"Um... good morning to you too, Reiko." Dr. Tofu chuckled, twisting his   
arm with her force instead of against it, extracting himself from her arm-bar.   
Reiko flushed with embarrassment. "I... I'm sorry."  
"Don't worry about it. Your reflexes are pretty impressive. Even I can't   
wake up that fast."  
"Well... my father trained me that way. He would tap me first, and if I   
didn't wake up immediately, he stomped on my stomach."  
Tofu went a little pale, remembering what he had said to Ranma and Akane   
the day before, while Reiko was still unconscious.   
  
'No, you don't understand. I mean she's been hit there, again and again,   
over a long period of time, without time to heal in between. It's caused   
gradual damage to occur to her internal reproductive organs...  
...I'd need to do more tests, but I don't think she will ever be able to   
have children.'  
  
Dr. Tofu cleared his throat. "Yes well... In any case, Ranma and Akane   
are here to visit you, so I thought I'd wake you up."  
"Thank you Doctor. Send them in."   
"Hiya Reiko. How're you doing?" Ranma stepped in, waving hello. His arm   
was still bandaged from the deep cuts Reiko had inflicted upon him during their   
fight. Akane followed him, smiling.   
"I feel great. Ready for round two?" She grinned at him.  
Ranma gave her an odd look. "Er... I think I'll have to pass. My arm's   
still throbbing and all."  
"Aww, poor Ranma." Reiko teased. "Would you like to lie down in my bed?"  
"Ex-CUSE me?" Akane exploded.   
"After I got out of it, of course."   
"Oh. Right. Of course." Akane said, slightly embarrassed.   
"I think your real fiancée thinks I'm trying to steal you away, Ranma   
dear."  
"Hmph! You can have the pervert!"Akane snorted, before Ranma could   
answer.  
"Hey! Who're you calling a pervert, you kawaiikunee tomboy!"  
"RRRRRR! Why is it whenever we meet someone new, you start right in   
calling me uncute?"   
Reiko looked back and forth at her visitors. "Um... guys?"  
"'Cause I can't stand the idea of people thinking I'm attracted to a   
sexless, flat-chested, tomboy chick like you."  
"OOOH! DIE RANMA!" Akane screamed as she snatched up a steel bedpan from   
a rack.   
(Author's note: prepare yourselves for the most tasteless joke I've ever   
written)  
"No! Akane, wait. That's..." Reiko trailed off as Akane lifted the   
bedpan over her head, intent on bringing it down on Ranma's skull. Cold, smelly   
yellow liquid rained down on her.  
"...The bedpan I used last night." Reiko finished lamely.   
Akane dropped the bedpan and twitched in disgust. Ranma was actively   
attempting not to smile... and failing.  
"Um... I think there's a shower down the hall, Akane-chan." Reiko said   
apologetically.  
Akane wordlessly marched out, her arms held stiffly out to the sides, as   
though any movement might cause the cold, smelly liquid to spread.   
Reiko glanced at her other guest, who was turning blue. "Okay Ranma. You   
can let it all out now."  
"BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"  
*CLANG* A chair was thrown through the open doorway, connecting solidly   
with the side of Ranma's head.   
As Ranma slumped to the floor, Reiko shook her head in amazement.   
"What an interesting couple."  
  
When Akane returned in a hospital gown (which Dr. Tofu kept in stock) and   
Ranma had woken up, the visit continued.   
"So, what's the good Doctor said of my condition? Any chance I could go   
home early?"  
"I don't think so. Dr. Tofu understands how martial artists have a   
stronger constitution than most. He probably took that into account when he   
said three days." Ranma said.  
"When you say 'home' you mean our house, right?" Akane asked.  
"Well, yes. I hope I didn't seem too presumptuous."   
"Oh, not at all! That's what we'd hoped. I was just afraid you had some   
idea to go back to your father."  
Reiko laughed. "Don't be silly! I'm not ready to go back to him yet."  
Akane sighed in relief, then looked up. "Yet?"  
"When I've trained enough, when I'm better than him, I'm going to kill   
him. Not for his treatment of me, you understand, but for murdering my mother."  
Akane couldn't think of anything to say. Ranma nodded in understanding.   
Further conversation was interrupted as the East wall exploded inward.   
When the dust cleared, Shampoo stood in the rubble, bonbori in hand.  
"Ranma! Where is new obstacle?"  
Shampoo was immediately knocked flat with a huge spatula.   
"Ranma! What's this I here about you engaging yourself to yet another   
fiancée?"   
Ukyou was struck down by a girl in a dark leotard, who jumped onto her   
shoulder and began twirling a ribbon in the air. Black rose petals flew   
everywhere.  
"Ranma darling! Say it's not true! Where is the fiendish monster-woman   
who has ensnared you in a spell of lust?"  
Shampoo and Ukyou hopped up, spilling Kodachi the Black Rose onto her   
behind.   
"What you talking? Shampoo no use lust potion in three whole months!"  
"How dare you jump on me like that, you two-bit hussy!"  
"Silence you knaves! Only I am worthy to court my darling Ranma!"  
Reiko watched in open-mouthed amazement at the three squabbling girls who   
burst into her room.   
"Would I be right in assuming that these are your other three fiancées,   
Ranma?" Reiko looked left and right. "Ranma?"  
Akane, her face a tight mask of irritation, pointed down. Reiko found   
Ranma hiding under her bed. She reached under and grabbed him by his ponytail.   
"What the hell do you think your doing? Get out here and start   
explaining!" Reiko growled.   
Wow, Akane thought, she really runs hot and cold, doesn't she?  
Reiko's little outburst served to draw the fiancées' attention from each   
other, and back to their original objective. Shampoo conked both her rivals on   
the head and faced Reiko.   
"You girl what stand between Shampoo and Airen. You is obstacle. That is   
for killing."  
"Shampoo! Look, it's not like it sounds. It-" Reiko cut Ranma off with a   
wave of her hand.   
"Alright China-girl. If you want to fight, that's fine with me. I can't   
afford to renounce my engagement to Ranma, so I'm not going to."  
"Then I kill you."  
Reiko smirked. "You may try, but I'd rather you not right now. As you   
can see, I'm recovering from injuries. A fight now would be quite uneven, and   
for you to win would be no great honour. Do you agree?"  
"Is true." The Chinese girl relaxed her battle stance. "Shampoo agree to   
kill you later."  
"Quite noble of you. I should be ready to end you in about a week. Is   
this acceptable?"   
Shampoo smiled arrogantly. "Shampoo fight you then. Where place?"  
"I'll be staying at the Tendo dojo, but anywhere you would like would be   
acceptable."  
"Tendo dojo is for good. I kill you in one week, Chimidoro Reiko."   
Shampoo said, then sprinted out the door.   
"What just happened?" Akane said.  
"I think Reiko just promised to kill Shampoo."  
"Don't worry, I don't think she should be too difficult to defeat. I'll   
just-"  
"You thief of hearts! You trollop! I will free my darling Ranma from   
your lecherous clutches!" Kodachi was awake.  
Reiko's eyebrow twitched. "Or die trying." She muttered. She raised her   
voice and addressed Kodachi. "I'm indebted to Ranma, and I will remain his   
fiancée. If you wish to challenge that, meet me at the Tendo dojo in eight   
days. I'm not in any shape to be challenged today."  
"Very well then. I shall liberate my darling Ranma in eight days. Be   
well prepared." Kodachi skipped out of the clinic in a strange display of rose   
petals and insane laughter.  
"That one's just creepy." Reiko muttered. Ukyou began to stir. "And   
here comes number three."  
"Wait!" Ranma cried. "I... I mean... let me handle this one, okay?"  
Reiko cocked her head. "For the honour of my school, I never turn down a   
challenge. On the other hand, if you want to talk _her_ out of it, be my   
guest."  
Ranma nodded and gave Ukyou a hand up.   
"Ukyou, are you okay?"  
"I'm fine sugar, now where's that hussy that conned you into getting   
engaged, AGAIN!"  
Reiko smiled and waved.  
Ukyou growled and was about to charge, but Ranma restrained her.   
"Wait, Ukyou. Before you attack her, there's a few things you need to   
hear first."  
"What for?"  
"Don't you at least want to hear how she became my fiancée?"  
"Well... I suppose so."  
"Come on. I just got my allowance, and I feel like some of the best   
okonomiyaki in all Japan. How about it?"  
Ukyou dropped her battle spatula in shock. "Ranma... you... you're..."  
Ranma blinked. "I'm what?"  
"You're actually paying!?"  
"I think she's going into shock." Akane smirked.  
"Better tell Doc Tofu to get another bed ready." Reiko chuckled.   
"Hey!" Ranma yelled indignantly. "I've paid for food before!"  
"Only when you had to." Akane said.   
"RRR. Come on Ukyou, let's go." He pulled the slack-jawed okonomiyaki   
chef through the hole in the wall.  
"I wonder how much he'll order, now that he's putting down cash for it."   
Reiko called after them.  
"Probably a cup of tea." Akane chuckled.  
"SHUT UP!"  
After they left, Akane and Reiko were left alone.   
"I wonder how they all found out? I never said anything. Ranma wouldn't   
dare. And I know none of them have been to the house in the last couple of   
days. Where..."   
"Don't strain yourself, Akane-chan. I know exactly who leaked the   
information. Someone who I used like some might throw dirt."  
"Huh?"  
"Hi everyone!" Nabiki said cheerfully, coming through the hole in the   
wall instead of the doorway. "What did I miss?"  
Reiko smirked and gestured towards the middle Tendo sister. "Speak of the   
devil..."  
  
  
***  
  
Reiko attempted to sleep in her hospital bed later that night, but her   
mind wouldn't rest.   
She'd forgiven Nabiki for spreading the news of her and Ranma's semi-  
engagement. She had used Nabiki like a tool in her match against Ranma; sending   
her sprawling in his direction, and then attacking him while his hands were   
occupied in catching the middle Tendo sister. Nabiki wasn't the type to enjoy   
being used. Reiko said that if sending three assassins her way was enough for   
Nabiki to consider them even, Reiko would forgive her and they both would let it   
drop. Reiko didn't need another enemy.  
She wished she could have trained during the day, but the Doctor had   
forbid it. That was part of the reason she'd set her matches for a week later;   
two days to heal and five to retrain. She wondered what training Akane did.   
She seemed really nice, except to Ranma.   
Maybe Reiko stood a chance at breaking the two of them up.   
Her thoughts were interrupted as a person crept stealthily into the room.   
Reiko feigned sleep. The tread was too light to be the Doctor, and she heard   
the tiny hiss of cloth scraping across the floor, like a cloak or a cape. The   
Doctor didn't wear anything like that.   
The person threw back the cloak and raised a weapon above his/her head.   
Reiko rolled off the small bed just as the mallet smashed down where her legs   
used to be. Reiko's eyes had adjusted to the dark, and she could clearly see   
the outline of a girl with a ponytail tied to one side, a cape around her   
shoulders. Where had she seen that form before? Oh yes...  
"Kodachi." Reiko growled, half from anger and half from the pain that   
movement brought. "What happened to eight days for recovery?"  
"Fear not, the date of the match still stands, I'm simply preparing myself   
by knowing my competition. A reasonable precaution, I'm sure you'll agree."  
"You're the first person I've met who considers an attempt to cripple a   
person to be 'checking out' the competition." Reiko growled.  
"You say to-meh-to, I say to-mah-to. DIE!" Kodachi swung the mallet.   
Reiko grabbed the sheets from the bed and threw them into the air, blocking   
her from view. Kodachi swatted the sheet away. Reiko was nowhere to be found.   
Kodachi cursed herself for not waiting for her eyes to adjust before   
attacking. She had just come in from the light of the street lamps. Searching   
for the girl in this dimness was going to be difficult.   
A hand tapped her shoulder. Kodachi spun.  
A fist cracked across her jaw. Kodachi fell.  
A voice snorted in derision. Kodachi passed out.  
  
Dr. Tofu came in with breakfast the next morning, and nearly dropped the   
tray. Reiko was sleeping soundly, a pleased smile on her face, just as he had   
excepted her to be.   
What he hadn't expected, was to find a girl in a leotard, bound with a   
ribbon, hanging from the curtain rod that circled Reiko's bed. Actually, she   
wasn't just hanging. The excess ribbon had been wound around her neck, and   
then tied to the curtain rod. Kodachi had been hung at a height that just   
allowed her to stand on the tips of her toes, and keep breathing. If she   
relaxed, the ribbon would tighten and strangle her. Kodachi's eyes were red and   
bloodshot. It had obviously been a long night for her.  
"Um... Good morning Reiko." The doctor said, as he took The Black Rose   
down and unwrapped her throat. The younger Kunou coughed and gasped as soon as   
she was let down. "Would you mind explaining this?"  
Reiko stretched leisurely. "I've never had such a restful night's sleep.   
Must have been the scarecrow I put up."   
Kodachi scowled at her. She tried to stand and failed. Dr. Tofu began to   
massage her legs to unlock the calf muscles.   
"As you can see, Doctor, I had a nocturnal visitor, who seemed determined   
to give me some midnight exercise. I obliged her." What she hadn't mentioned was how much the movement had hurt.  
"I see." Dr. Tofu said.  
"Thanks for the fun, Kodachi-chan. Why don't you run home now, and I'll   
see you in a week." Kodachi attempted standing again, finding the doctor's   
hands had done their work, and picked up her stuff.  
"You haven't heard the last of me, you evil, heartless, enemy of love!"   
She dashed out the door, near tears.  
"Oh my, 'enemy of love'? That's one I haven't heard before."   
"I have this sick feeling, in the pit of my stomach, that you're going to   
become one of my 'interesting' patients." The doctor muttered, shaking his head   
and smiling.  
"Ranma's got nothing on me. Now, how about that breakfast?"  
  
***  
  
"Morning Reiko. Sleep well?" Akane asked, as she stretched in her bed.   
"Just fine." Reiko answered, stacking her folded bedding in the corner.   
She was already dressed.  
Akane rolled over to look at her clock. It said 7:01. "When did you wake up?"  
"Around five. I spent the morning training with Ranma and Genma, in   
preparation for today's match." Her voice had a sad touch to it, but Akane was   
still too groggy to notice.  
Akane nodded. Reiko had done the same every day for the last five, and   
after she and Ranma left for school, Reiko apparently continued with their   
fathers, or by herself. In regular sparring matches, she'd beat Ranma several   
times.   
"That girl is something else, boy." Genma had told his son in private.   
"I want you to spar with her every chance you get. We can add her techniques to   
our school's repertoire."  
Ranma had just rolled his eyes, but secretly, he wanted to learn the   
techniques as well.  
Akane got out of bed and dressed. Rei, having nothing else to do, sat on   
Akane's bed and watched.   
"You know, it occurs to me," Reiko said, "we never set an actual time for   
the match. She could show up anytime today. You said she doesn't go to school,   
right?"  
"True, but she'll probably be here pretty soon. Shampoo's not known as   
the patient type." Akane said as she pulled on her school dress.   
Reiko flopped back on the bed, looking at the ceiling. She'd exercised   
enough already this morning. Any more and she'd risk being tired when Shampoo   
arrived. On the other hand, if the Chinese girl showed up at noon, Reiko would   
have lost many of the benefits of her warm-up.   
She rolled her head to look at Akane again. "You know Shampoo better than   
I. Any pointers?"  
Akane straitened her dress in the mirror. "Well, if you beat   
Ranma, than Shampoo should be an easy. Um... she's pretty acrobatic; likes to   
jump around a lot when she fights. May or may not bring a pair of colourful   
maces called bonbori."   
Reiko nodded to herself, making a note of it. "Just because I beat Ranma   
doesn't mean this girl's no threat. Skill is not the only determinant in a   
fight. If I'm not prepared for her style; if she pulls some move that's so   
unlike anything I've ever seen before, I might not recognize it as an attack   
until it's too late. If her move was really flashy, I might even be so   
surprised that I'd just stand there while she nailed me. Surprise is always an   
advantage if you can use it right."  
Akane sat beside Reiko on the bed to put on her socks as she thought about   
that. Surprise, huh? Maybe there was some way she could use that against   
Ranma...  
Reiko frowned curiously as Akane began to smile to herself. She was about   
to ask what was so amusing, when Akane hopped up and said cheerfully,  
"Let's go get breakfast."  
Reiko shrugged and followed her down.   
  
***  
  
Shampoo arrived precisely at 7:30 am. Her great-grandmother accompanied   
her.   
"Son in Law, what's this I'm hearing about you having a new fiancée, hmm?   
Don't you have enough already?"  
"Hey old ghoul! Mind your own business!" Ranma yelled.   
"I believe I'm the girl in question." Reiko said calmly, as she stood up   
from the breakfast table and stepped out into the yard. "Would you mind if I   
asked what your involvement in all this is, old woman?"   
"This Shampoo great-grandmother." Shampoo stated proudly. "Great   
grandmother is elder of Amazon tribe, and great fighter."  
Reiko raised an eyebrow. "Am I fighting her today, or you?"  
"You fight Shampoo, of course!"  
"Then what difference does it make how good a fighter your great-  
grandmother is. No offense intended obaasan."  
"None taken." The old woman smiled. "You have a valid point. Now, young   
lady, if you don't mind; I'd like to know how you came to be the fiancée of my   
Shampoo's bridegroom."  
Reiko smiled apologetically. "I'm afraid that information is not your   
business. However you should know that I am Ranma's fiancée, and I am not   
willing to renounce that title under any circumstances. There should be no   
confusion on that point."  
"If Shampoo beat you, then you is no more Ranma fiancée!" Shampoo said.  
Reiko shook her head. "I'm sorry, but I never said that, and I won't now   
either. More is at stake here than simple pride."   
Cologne frowned. "If this match is not over Son in Law, then why are you   
two fighting?"  
Reiko shrugged. "Your great-granddaughter challenged me. As the heir to   
the Chimidoro no Ryuu School of Martial Arts, I never refuse any challenge."  
Cologne seemed taken aback. "The B-Bloody Dragon school?"  
Reiko nodded.   
Shampoo looked at her great-grandmother curiously. "You know this girl   
school, Great-grandmother?"  
"Yes child, but just a moment." She turned back to Reiko, looking more   
carefully at the red gi with its black trim. She now noticed the familiar   
crest. "Tell me, student of the Chimidoro school, how long have you been   
training?"  
"I said 'heir', not student. And I have been trained almost from the time I could walk."  
Cologne seemed very pale. "Oh Shampoo, I would not tangle with this one   
if I were you."  
"But Great-grandmother!" Shampoo protested.  
"No child!" Cologne snapped. "If she has not agreed to stake her   
engagement on the battle, then there is nothing to gain here but your death!"  
Everyone seemed to stiffen. Death?  
"Reiko, what is she talking about?" Akane asked, coming up behind the   
dark girl. Reiko folded her arms and glared coldly at Shampoo as she spoke.   
"What she's trying to tell her great-granddaughter, is that the Chimidoro   
no Ryuu School is not one of those weak little commercial schools, who study and   
teach the art for the money. We of the Bloody Dragon family follow the   
teachings to their original purpose, to survive and win a battle to the death.   
With a few special exceptions, all challenges accepted by the Chimidoro no Ryuu   
School are to the death."   
"You can't be serious!" Ranma said, the only one able to find words.   
"What about our fight? That was a challenge."  
Reiko nodded. "Since the purpose of the fight was to decide whether or   
not I would marry you, that falls under the category of special exceptions."   
She turned her raptor's gaze on the nervous Shampoo. "This does not."   
"Let's not be hasty, my young friend." Cologne pleaded. "I think we have   
much in common. Shampoo was engaged to Son in Law much the same way as   
yourself. Now-"  
"Shampoo no care where you train! You is obstacle! I defeat you Reiko   
Chimidoro! Then Ranma is mine."  
"As you wish," Reiko said coldly, "but keep in mind that the only way for   
you to end my engagement to Ranma is to kill me." Reiko took up a battle   
stance. "Begin!"  
"Shampoo, NO!" Cologne screamed, but Shampoo ignored her. This girl was   
an obstacle to her and Ranma's happiness. Her honor demanded she make good on   
her challenge. Great-grandmother was probably just being over-cautious.   
Reiko had said that she would have to kill her to get Ranma. Shampoo had   
never actually killed anyone before, and was a little squeamish about the idea,   
but she pushed that shameful emotion away. She swung the iron maces, her   
bonbori, at Reiko's crimson form, trying to crush her skull.   
Reiko nimbly avoided the heavy maces. The speed with which the Chinese   
girl swung the weapons spoke of her impressive strength, but the weight of the   
bonbori still slowed Shampoo's strikes a little.  
And a little was more than enough.  
Once she was sure she had Shampoo's rhythm, Reiko grasped Shampoo's   
outstretched wrist and vaulted over the blow, using the extra pull of her grip   
to add power to her kick as she sent the whole of her body weight into Shampoo's   
chin.   
Shampoo fell to the ground with a small cry, as Reiko landed beyond her.   
Reiko turned halfway and watched the Chinese girl, putting a hand on her hip.   
Akane hoped that would end the fight. She didn't like Shampoo, but even   
the Chinese Bimbo didn't deserve to die over something so stupid. Akane thought   
Reiko's watching expression seemed a little out of place. No anger, no   
arrogance, no pity; she just looked... depressed.   
Shampoo struggled to stand, fighting back the blackness that threatened to   
overwhelm her. She barely made it to her feet. Reiko noted that she left the   
bonbori on the ground. The Chinese girl wasn't completely stupid. She knew she   
needed more speed than power now. Shampoo teetered a bit on her feet, still   
dizzy.   
Reiko took up a defensive stance and waited, giving Shampoo the time to   
regain her balance. Shampoo seemed to take this as an act of pity, and was   
insulted by it. She attacked Reiko like a mad animal, charging directly into   
Reiko's fist. Shampoo's knees buckled, and Reiko grabbed her shirt in her left   
hand, drawing back her right. The fingers curled into an unusual technique that   
Akane couldn't recognize. Ranma didn't either, but he quickly grasped its   
purpose.  
Reiko's next blow would tear out Shampoo's throat.  
"If you believe in gods, Shampoo, now is the time to pray to them." Reiko   
said sadly. Her arm tensed.  
"WAIT!" Ranma screamed.   
Reiko looked at him. "What?"  
"Don't kill her."  
"Why not?"  
"Because... well... she doesn't deserve it!"  
"Maybe not, but she knew what she was getting into. I gave her every   
opportunity to back out of it. I'm sorry Ranma," and she looked it, "but I have   
no choice. The laws of the Chimodoro no Ryuu School are very clear on this   
point."  
"But... but..." Ranma struggled for a reason to stop this.   
Shampoo used this opportunity to recover. She struck for Reiko's throat.   
Reiko released her grip and caught the hand. The tips of the amazon's fingers   
were millimetres from her throat. Too close. Reiko paused here for only a   
fraction of a second, then her lightning fast hands were moving again.  
Shampoo screamed as her elbow joint broke. The sound was cut off as   
Reiko's backfist broke her nose, knocking her to the ground. Shampoo rose to   
her hand and knees, her whole body shaking with pain.   
Ranma whirled on the old woman. "Can't you stop this?"  
"I'm afraid my hands are tied. Shampoo has given challenge and refused to   
renege on it. This is a matter of honor; I cannot help her." Cologne said.   
She closed her eyes, and a tear ran down her cheek.   
Reiko advanced and pulled Shampoo upwards by her hair. She put one hand  
across her throat, the other on the back of her head, in preparation of breaking   
Shampoo's neck.   
"No more, Shampoo. I won't drop my guard again. Do you have anything you   
wish to say?" Reiko asked sadly.   
Shampoo swallowed, choking back sobs.   
"Sha-Shampoo... love... Ranma."   
"I got it!" Ranma yelled. "You can't kill her!"  
Reiko looked at him carefully. "And why not?"  
Ranma smiled confidently. "Because I'm your future husband, and I say you   
can't kill her, no matter what the laws of your school are. And, uh... Besides,   
by our engagement, I'm the heir to the Chimidoro no Ryuu School and when the   
school is mine, the laws will be mine to keep or change."  
Reiko cocked her head curiously. "An interesting theory, but what gave   
you the idea that I was the obedient, stereotypical Japanese housewife?"  
Ranma faltered only a moment. "Uh... because if you fall out of favour   
with me now, I can have our engagement annulled. Yeah!"  
Reiko blinked at him, her hands still poised to wrench the Chinese girl's   
head around backwards. Annulling the fake engagement was something Reiko   
couldn't afford to do right now, and Ranma knew it. She looked at the trembling   
girl whose life she literally held in her hands.   
  
How many times had she been in this position?   
How many times had she asked her father to let her stop?  
How many times had she broke the neck, and then retched beside the corpse?   
  
When had she stopped feeling ill?  
When had she stopped asking her father to have mercy?  
  
Reiko laughed. Everyone, tensely waiting for her reaction, was not   
expecting this. Reiko let go of Shampoo, who leaned there with her head on   
Reiko's lap for a moment, confused, before bolting like a frightened rabbit for   
her great-grandmother's side.   
Akane was the first to notice that Reiko's laughter had faded into sobs.   
"Reiko..." She moved off the porch to the girl's side. She put a hand on   
Reiko's shoulder and squeezed reassuringly. Reiko reached up and put a hand   
over hers.  
"Ranma..." Reiko began. She obviously wanted to say more, but she   
couldn't through her tears.  
Ranma came down from the porch and stood beside her. "Reiko... I'm sorry   
I forced you to break your traditions, but..."  
"No, Ranma, you don't understand..."  
"Huh?"  
"Thank you Ranma." Reiko said. "Thank you for stopping me. It's been a   
long time... since anyone found a way."   
Ranma couldn't think of anything to say.  
Neither could anyone else.   
  
***  
  
Akane soaked in the tub, letting the stress of this morning seep out of   
her body and into the hot water. She'd never have pegged Reiko for a killer.   
Sure she was violent, but that was the result of her training. The rest of the   
time she was quite pleasant.   
The killing... was definitely not something Reiko seemed to enjoy, and   
that was something of a relief. Obviously her father had forced her to kill   
early on, making all her matches final. Now, at 17, Reiko no longer questioned   
the need to kill her opponents. Her hesitation had been worked out of her.  
But it still bothered her. That meant she was human.  
A soft knock came on the screen door of the bath.   
"Akane? Do you mind if I join you?" Reiko asked, in an almost timid   
voice. It sounded so pitiful that Akane didn't even briefly consider refusing.  
"Of course." She said cheerfully. "Come on in."  
The door parted, and Reiko stepped through, a towel held loosely in front   
of her. Akane watched her approach, looking over the girl's body. She noted   
that the bruising of her abdomen was almost gone, but her body would always be   
covered with the scars of her violent life.   
Not unlike her soul, Akane thought.   
Reiko washed herself economically, this time without any wincing. When   
she was done, she slipped into the huge bath beside Akane. There was a silence   
that grew more and more uncomfortable.   
"After Shampoo left, I asked Ranma to repeat after me. Then I told him,   
'Reiko Chimidoro, as your future husband, I command you never to kill another   
person, unless your own life is in danger. I say this with the understanding   
that if you go against my wishes, our engagement is off.' Then I promised to   
obey his wishes. Okay, so he's not me real fiancé, and I'm never going to   
marry him, but for now, I'm 'trapped' by 'his' ultimatum, and I don't have to   
kill anyone else."  
Akane nodded. "Good news. What about your father? Do you still intend   
to kill him?"  
Reiko smiled. "Oh yes. I'll kill him, and break my promise at the same   
time. That means I'm no longer engaged to Ranma, so I'm free. No more men will   
have any hold on me anymore, not even a friendly one like Ranma has. I'll be   
completely free to go where I choose, do what I choose, and be who I choose."   
"I'm happy for you." Akane said hesitantly. Reiko picked up on it.  
"You don't sound happy. What's bothering you?"  
Akane fidgeted. "Nothing. It's just... this whole killing your father   
thing. I can't even imagine it."  
"Your father is a kind and gentle man. You know mine is not. You can't   
imagine the things I've seen him do, that I've had to do for him." Reiko   
trailed off, obviously not wanting to describe anything in detail.   
Silence reigned for a moment.   
"Reiko, did your father ever... touch you... in a..."  
Reiko smirked. "I'm not a six-year-old, Akane. Just ask if he ever   
molested me."  
"Uh..." Akane's face burned. She didn't want to put anything so personal   
to words.  
"The answer is no. His abuse was only physical... and verbal. My father   
lives by a very rigid, if disturbing, moral code. Incest is out, and so is   
rape, with the exception of the unfortunate woman who married him. She was his   
to rape whenever, and however violently, he felt like it. Prostitutes too, once   
they were paid."  
Akane look ill.   
"Anyway, let's talk about something more pleasant. Tell me about your   
family, Akane."  
"Well... you've been here almost a week now. What do you want to know?"  
Reiko thought about it for a moment. "Tell me about your mother." She   
asked softly.  
Akane took a deep breath. "Well... I can't remember her all that well. I   
was only about five when she died. She was sick, I don't remember what with,   
but... she was in bed for weeks before it ended. Daddy kept telling me she was   
in no pain. He cried a lot. He was calmer back then, but after she died, he   
seemed to worry all the time and get upset about everything."  
"He'd lose his temper?"  
"No no. I mean he breaks down and sobs. He's very high-strung these   
days, and emotional. I guess it's not so bad. Nabiki keep saying how easy it   
is to manipulate him, not that _I_ ever do, but..."   
Reiko smiled. "How did your sisters take her death? That's when Kasumi   
started doing all the cooking and everything, right?"  
Akane smiled nostalgically, leaning her arms on the edge of the bath.   
"Yeah, she's amazing. She didn't shed a tear at Mom's bedside. She just took   
care of her, and Dad. Later though, after Mom died, I remember walking past her   
room at night and hearing her crying herself to sleep.  
"Nabiki... Nabiki turned hard. I mean, she cried for Mom and everything,   
but... inside, she just got all cynical, and material. She took over the family   
finances. She's got a dozen scams going on at school in any given week. Making   
money. I've seen her do a few things just for her own amusement, but other than   
that, she seems to get more pleasure out of making deals, conning people out of   
money, that sort of thing." Akane laughed. "One of her ongoing scams is   
selling racy pictures of Ranma's girl form to the guys at school."  
"His WHAT?"  
  
***  
  
The next day, Reiko faced off against Kodachi in the Tendo's yard. To be   
honest, Reiko was surprised she showed. After being handled so easily a week   
ago in the clinic, Kodachi was either very brave or completely insane. The   
Martial Arts Gymnast had brought a friend, similarly attired in a leotard, who   
carried a bag of Kodachi's 'special' tools.  
"Fear not Ranma Darling. I'll free you from this vicious harlot's   
clutches! OHOHOHOHOHO!"  
Definitely insane, Reiko decided as that disturbing laugh made everyone   
cringe.   
"All right! Shut up already!" Reiko said. "Fortunately for you, I've   
promised not to kill my opponents any more. So you can relax. In fact, you can   
collapse. Allow me to introduce you the ground." She took up a defensive   
stance. Kodachi did the same, ribbon in hand.  
Akane saw a big difference in Reiko's attitude today. She was smiling.   
Fighting was fun now, since it didn't have such a serious conclusion.   
"Prepare to suffer, you-"  
"Shaddap!" Reiko groaned. "Let's get to it." She attacked.   
They danced around for a while, Kodachi using her ribbon to keep Reiko at   
a distance. After a while of this, Reiko got bored and caught the ribbon. She   
smirked at Kodachi as the gymnast pulled and flicked the ribbon in a vain   
attempt to free it.   
Eventually she dropped it and called to her subordinate for her clubs.   
Reiko smiled and waited politely with her hands folded behind her back until   
Kodachi got them. As Kodachi charged, striking rapidly with the clubs, Reiko   
simply dodged the blows by shifting her head or body from side to side. She   
kept her hands behind her back the whole time. Her smile was beginning to   
irritate the Black Rose.   
Kodachi depressed the switch hidden on the handle of her club. Reiko gave   
a small cry as a line of blood split open on her cheek. She jumped backward towards the big tree to reassess the situation. She saw the spikes retreat into   
the club again as Kodachi released the button.   
Now the Black Rose was the one who smiled. Reiko frowned. She dabbed at   
the blood on her cheek with her fingers. Fortunately the cut wasn't very deep;   
it probably wouldn't scar.   
Reiko smiled, unkindly. "Not bad, 'Black Rose'. You took me by surprise.   
Can you do it again?"  
"We shall see, miscreant!"  
Kodachi attacked, Reiko jumped up and vaulted off the tree, over her   
opponent's head. Kodachi missed and her club lodged its spikes deep into the   
tree's trunk. Pulling it free seemed unlikely.   
Kodachi abandoned the club and switched the other to her right hand. She   
prepared herself for an attack.  
"You've been fun to play with, Kodachi, but I think I'll end this now, if   
you don't mind. My breakfast is getting cold."   
Reiko leapt into the air. "HIGI RYUUSEISHOU!"  
Sitting with everyone else on the porch, Ranma's eyes widened. "That...   
that's the technique that Herb uses." He murmured in surprise, wondering how   
the Chimidoro school had learned the technique from the tribe of the Nyanniichuan-cursed dragon-boy... or perhaps, how Herb had learned it from the   
Chimidoros.  
Reiko's body glowed with the power of her ki, as she swooped down and   
struck the Black Rose's stomach with all the force her bodyweight and ki could   
combine to give.   
The younger Kunou's eyes crossed with pain, before she pitched foreword on   
her face.  
Reiko stood over the unconscious girl and raised a hand to strike. She   
paused and blinked. "Oh yeah, I don't have to do that anymore." She said   
sheepishly as she lowered her hand and waved Kodachi's nervous-looking assistant  
to the gymnast's fallen body. The girl eagerly ran forward to check Kodachi   
for serious injuries.   
Reiko returned to the breakfast table, happy to find her rice was still   
fairly warm.  
"Say, Reiko?" Ranma asked eagerly.   
"Um?" Reiko grunted, her mouth full.  
"That technique you just used, the Higi Ryuuseishou, do you think you   
could teach it to me?"  
Reiko swallowed her rice and looked at him. "Ranma, I thought I already   
made this clear; the techniques of the Chimidoro no Ryu School are secret, and   
can only be passed down through the family. Even if we are engaged to each   
other, because of our... arrangement, it would be unethical for me to teach you   
our school's secrets."  
"Yeah I know, but this technique isn't unique to your school. There was   
this guy from China I met who used the same technique, so it wouldn't be a real   
secret you'd be teaching me, right?"   
Rei thought he looked like a little kid at Christmas, so excited and   
hopeful. "I don't know, Ranma. You've only seen the Higi Ryuuseishou in   
action. Actually teaching you how to do it is something a little different..."   
"Aw com'n! We're supposed to be getting married, officially. If we were   
engaged for real you'd be teaching me the techniques, right? What if your   
father comes back?"  
Reiko slid next to him on her knees, taking Ranma's hand. "Oh Ranma!   
Are you saying that you want to marry me for real?"   
"Huh?" Ranma said.  
"WHAT?" Akane roared, coming back from seeing the gymnast and her   
unconscious burden to the front gate. She grabbed Ranma by his shirt collar.   
"I turn my back for five minutes and you start acting like a pervert again. I   
DON'T BELIEVE YOU!"  
"Wait! Akane, it's not what it looks-"  
*BASH*CRUNCH*KERPOW*  
Reiko turned happily back to her unfinished breakfast. "Thanks Akane-  
chan. His whining about my techniques was getting annoying."   
"I'm impressed." Nabiki smiled as she sat down across from Reiko.   
"It's nothing." Reiko said, taking a bite of her salad. "Actually, he   
might have a point. If my father visits (not that he'd break his agreement to   
stay off your father's property) he'd expect me to be teaching Ranma our   
school's techniques."   
Reiko added more mayonnaise and chewed her salad thoughtfully. "If I had   
to teach him one, I'd guess it'd be the Higi Ryuuseishou, because he already   
knows about it."  
"Hmm. Are you going to teach him that 'Dragon Claw' thing too?" Akane   
asked.  
"You mean the Ryuunotsume? I guess by that logic, I could. On the other   
hand, It's a much more advanced technique, so I might have to teach him other   
techniques before he can master it. Sort of like stepping stones, leading up to   
the Ryuunotsume. More than that though, the Ryuunotsume is a technique   
characteristic to our school alone. It's sort of like a calling card, or a   
signature. To teach it to someone outside our school would be like giving your   
family name to people you meet on the street. But the Higi Ryuuseishou..."  
Reiko grabbed Ranma and slapped him awake. "Hey Ranma!"  
"Wha..."   
"I'll teach you the Higi Ryuuseishou, if you teach me the Hiryuu Shotenha.   
Deal?"  
"Uh, sure. No problem. Thanks a lot, Reiko." He said happily, as he   
picked himself up.   
  
***  
  
Training for both of them began the next day. Ranma would teach the   
Hiryuu Shotenha before school, and Reiko would teach the Higi Ryuuseishou in the   
afternoon.   
"The essence of the Higi Ryuuseishou is to spread your ki around your   
entire body, to make it into a living weapon, like a thrown spear." Reiko   
lectured Ranma, as the two stood in a shallow part of the river in a nearby   
park. The water came only a few inches above their ankles.  
Genma and the Tendos sat on a blanket nearby, making a picnic out of it.   
Since Ranma was being taught the technique directly, and it would therefore become part of the Saotome style, Genma felt no need to study the training, and lazily contented himself with playing shogi with Soun.  
"You've already mastered a way to focus ki through your hands: your Mouko   
Takabisha." Reiko continued. "This is the same thing, but more difficult. You   
have to extend your ki around your whole body, and you have to be able to move   
things with that ki."  
"Things like what?" Ranma asked.  
"In the actual technique? Air. You have to part the air in front of you   
and pull it behind you suddenly, thereby pulling your body through the air and   
shooting toward your opponent."   
"Sort of like swimming."  
"Right, except air's too light for you to pull yourself just by moving   
your arms or legs. You need to use your ki to get a grip on it. You've   
seen that the Higi Ryuuseishou begins with a jump. Once you've got the height,   
you need to whip around in the air and then shoot in the other direction."  
"So what's the first step?"   
"We're going to start with water, then you can move up to air."  
"But air's lighter than water. Wouldn't that be easier?"  
"Sure, but if you can move the water fast enough, air should be a piece of   
cake. Besides, how are you going to know for sure that the air's moving if you   
can't see it? You need something visual to start with." She moved into a high   
stance, placing her hands in a meditative position.   
"Right." Ranma nodded. Sensing that the lecture was over and the   
demonstration about to begin, she took up a similar position facing her.   
Reiko closed her eyes and concentrated. Ranma kept her eyes open to   
watch. The water around her legs swirled, and her long hair began to float   
upwards.   
The Tendos were now paying close attention to the display. Genma moved a   
few pieces on the shogi board and then looked as well.   
Reiko began to growl. It was a low noise beginning in the back of her   
throat. It rose in pitch and the swirling of the water around her ankles   
increased accordingly. Finally, she gave a fierce yell, a kiai, and the water   
exploded around her, spraying up almost as tall as the trees.  
Reiko was panting when the water splashed down again.   
Ranma was sitting in the water with her mouth open, where she had been knocked over.  
  
"Amazing!" Akane whispered.   
"Not bad at all." Genma agreed.  
"Saotome, maybe we should join in the lesson. After all, what have we to lose but the flab collecting around our waists?" Soun pondered aloud.  
"But what about our game?" Genma returned.  
"Oh, quite right Saotome. We can always give it a shot later. Now, who's   
turn was it?"  
"You- I mean, it's my turn."  
  
Ranma gave the technique a shot, and managed to make some bubbles in the   
water around her ankles.  
"Stop focusing on the water." Reiko counseled. "Focus on your ki. The   
water should just be a side effect."  
Ranma nodded and tried again, and succeeded in getting the water to swirl   
around her ankles like it did for Reiko.  
"Good, now shoot the ki up in a big blast."  
"Um... I think I did." Ranma muttered.   
"We got some work to do." Reiko sighed.   
  
***  
  
End of Chapter two.  
That's two down, and ?? left to go.   
One of my pre-readers suggested I give this thing a little more of a lemon   
sent. There's certainly room for it to head that way. I'm not sure how I feel   
about writing that sort of thing (got no problem reading it, mind you :)), I've   
always left the sex mostly "off-camera".   
"To @%#& or not to @%#&, that is the question." And I put it to you   
readers. Give me your opinion by the Email address at the bottom. If I do turn   
this into a lemon, I promise it will be tasteful, and it will still have a plot.  
I actually attempted to write a lemon once, just to expand my range. It   
didn't turn out quite like I planned it, but it was very entertaining. I'll   
either post it somewhere or Email it to individuals on request. I haven't   
decided yet. I called it "H-Trek" (but it has absolutely nothing to do with   
Star Trek). Let me know if you want to read it.  
  
Opinion's criticized (and considered): simply send yours to:   
Hinoron@hotmail.com  
  
Ja matta!  
  
  



	3. Chapter Three

Chimidoro no Ryuu   
Chapter 3  
A Ranma 1/2 Fanfiction by Hino, Ron  
  
================================================================================  
*** WARNING! FIRST DRAFT! ***  
Chapters 3-6 are in desperate need of revision, perhaps even total rewrites of the plot. I've sat on them for a while, but I'm not sure what elements I want to keep and what's a useless pile of biological waste. I've been told I let people get too far out of character, but sited examples and suggestions would be much appreciated, as well as anything else that sucks about it. Please review these chapters and then forget you ever saw them! Only Chapters 1 & 2 should be considered ready for public viewing.  
Suggestions to hinoron@hotmail.com  
Thanks much for your assistance.   
================================================================================  
  
Just a brief foreword:   
1. Ranma and friends are owned by Rumiko Takahashi and a bunch of corporations.   
Except for the new characters, everyone else belongs to her and them. I don't   
own them. Please don't take ideas or (my) characters from this story without my   
permission.  
2. "Chimidoro no Ryuu" means, loosely translated (by which I mean, badly   
translated) "Bloody Dragon". That would make the full name of the School   
"Chimidoro no Ryuu Ryu" (ryu meaning a martial arts school/style). To avoid the   
confusion, it will always be written as the Chimidoro no Ryuu School, or the shorter Chimidoro school, though in the second case it is a reference more to Reiko's family name then the school's title.  
3. I got the term Luanshengniichuan from a Chinese-born friend of mine (Thanks   
Wei!). The 1st term she gave me was Shuangbaotainiichuan. I picked the shorter   
of the two, (interesting how they're only 4 and 5 'letters' respectively in   
Chinese, and 17 and 20 in English). What does it mean, you ask? Geez, can't   
you wait 6 lines?  
And with that out of the way, we begin again.  
  
[Jyusenkyo]  
  
"Luanshengniichuan?"   
"Yes, Miss. Is very very cursed spring. There very tragic story of   
mother of twin girls, who trip and drop babies into spring, 460 year ago. Only   
honorable ancestor who guard spring keep crying woman from jumping into spring   
after two baby. Now, whoever fall in spring, become twins... I think. Very   
strange and cursed spring, even for Jyusenkyo." The guide finished. This was   
probably the most feared of all the pools he guarded, according to what had been   
passed down to him by his father.   
The girl who had come to him was recovering from serious injuries, in fact   
her arm was still in a sling. There was slightly insane gleam in her eyes as   
she gazed down into the pool in question. The guide hoped she wouldn't try to   
jump into the spring.   
The results of more than one dunking in Jyusenkyo springs were often   
unpredictable and dangerous.   
"So if girl fall in spring, she turn to two babies?" Shampoo asked   
carefully.  
"No know for sure. I never see anyone fall in that spring in all time I   
work here. Maybe two baby, maybe two young girl, maybe just one girl, with twin   
baby sister. No know. Please step back from pool Miss."   
Shampoo thought about it for a moment. "Is worth risk."  
"No Miss! Please no jump!"  
"What you talking? Shampoo want you fill barrel with Luanshengniichuan   
for take back to Japan!"  
"Oh."  
  
***  
  
"Keep trying Ranma. Clear your mind."  
"It's clear dammit!" Ranma-chan growled.  
"If it were really clear, you wouldn't be angry enough to cuss at me. Let   
it go." Reiko answered. She sat calmly on one of the big rocks on the bank.  
Ranma-chan sighed and focused. The water of the little stream swirled   
around her ankles. Reiko nodded with approval. Ranma-chan built her ki and   
released it upwards, taking water with it. The water sprayed about as high as   
her waist. Reiko had been able to raise the water as high as the high tree   
branches.  
Ranma-chan sank to her knees in the shallow water, panting heavily. "How   
was that?"  
"Much better Ranma. You're progressing quite quickly, but you've still   
got a long way to go. This is sort of like a muscle that you've never used in   
your life. You have to build it up strong before you can do anything useful   
with it."   
"So I can't even _try_ the Higi Ryuuseishou yet?" Ranma-chan asked,   
frustrated.  
"You could," Reiko shrugged, "but you'd only fall flat on your face."   
Ranma-chan flopped on her back in the creek, groaning.   
"Stop whining!" Rei snapped. "It took me half a year to learn this. I   
think it should only take you a month. Not all techniques are easy to pick up."  
Ranma-chan lay in the water, lolling her head around form side to side.  
"Say Reiko, I've been thinking."  
"I'll call the newspapers." Reiko smirked.  
"No seriously. This technique is supposed to push against the air around   
you and shoot your body forward to strike the opponent, right.  
"Right."  
"What if you could push down while you were standing still? Would you be   
able to float in the air?"  
Reiko rubbed her chin thoughtfully. "Theoretically, it's possible, but I   
sure as hell can't do it. You saw how hard it is to move a bit of water, can   
you imagine how strong your ki would have to be to lift a human body? Shit   
Ranma! If you meet up with a guy who can float himself in the air using his ki,   
turn and fucking RUN the other way. That's just scary.   
"Actually, I guess I could use it to give myself a boost when jumping,   
might be able to add a metre or two to my distance. It'd be pretty draining   
though, so I'd only use it in an emergency."  
"Why do you say 'I' and not 'we', shouldn't I be able to do it too?"  
"Not for quite a while, Ranma. Now get back up and try again."  
Ranma-chan groaned again and stood up, shaking some of the water out of   
her hair.  
If nothing else, this was the cleanest training she'd ever done.   
  
***  
  
One Sunday morning a week later, Reiko was resting from her training in   
the Hiryuushotenha. She was finally ready to learn the final blow, after two   
weeks of training. She didn't have the urgency that Ranma had felt when he   
learned it in only three days.   
Reiko had almost fallen into a lazy Sunday snooze on the porch, when she   
felt eyes on her.  
She quickly rolled sideways off the porch, landing on her feet. The water   
balloon burst across the polished wood.   
"Aiya! Shampoo miss!"  
"What's with the water balloons, Shampoo." Rei asked in confusion. "I'm   
not in the mood to play kid's games."  
Shampoo grinned. "Is no game. You know Airen's curse, yes?"  
"Who's 'Airen'?" Reiko asked, still confused. She didn't speak any   
Mandarin at all.  
"Airen is husband, Ranma."   
(Author's note: actually, according to my Chinese friend, "Airen" could mean a   
wife too. Literally, it just means one's lover.)  
"Oh, you mean how he turn's into a girl when he gets wet?"  
"That cause he hit with Nyanniichuan water from Jyusenkyo." She hefted   
one of the several balloons she carried. "This water also from Jyusenkyo. Evil   
girl take Luanshengniichuan!" She cried as she hurled another balloon. She   
seemed much healthier now, though Reiko noticed that she was throwing with her   
left arm.  
Reiko skipped to one side. "So this is water from Jyusenkyo, eh? What   
does lon-shen, or whatever, mean in Japanese?"  
"Evil girl find out for self." Shampoo yelled. All the commotion was   
bringing the other inhabitants out to watch. Ranma decided Rei didn't need help   
and watched with interest.  
Reiko continued to dodge balloons. "I'm afraid I'm not _that_ curious.   
You're going to have to tell me before you run out of balloons."  
Shampoo growled. She now held the very last of the Luanshengniichuan   
balloons in her hand. She took careful aim at Reiko, who leaned calmly against   
the big tree, grinning.  
Shampoo missed. The water splashed harmlessly down the tree trunk, as   
Reiko was naturally no longer there.   
Shampoo sank to her knees in the grass.  
"Sham... Shampoo lose."  
Reiko walked up cautiously. "So now that you can't splash me, can you   
tell what you were trying to turn me into?"   
"Shampoo no know Japanese word."  
"Yeah right." Reiko muttered. She kicked Shampoo's good arm out from   
under her, leaving her face-first in the lawn. She put a foot on the Chinese   
girl's neck. "Tell me what kind of spring it was or I'll break both your arms   
this time.  
"Spring of Drowned Twin Babies!" A scratchy voice yelled.  
"What!?" Reiko spun around to face the voice, just in time to take a   
water balloon in the face.   
"Great going, Great-grandmother!" Shampoo cried. She had been able to   
dodge out of the way to avoid being splashed.   
"I didn't think you'd be able to handle this one by yourself. Balloon's   
aren't the most aerodynamic of missiles. Even I might have had difficulty   
hitting her without the element of surprise on my side." Cologne smiled.  
"Look!" Akane cried, pointing at Reiko.  
  
Reiko clutched her head in pain as the water soaked her through. The sky   
went dark. She screamed as her body shrank into her gi, getting smaller and   
smaller. Her cries turned into an infant's wails as she shrank to a baby's age.   
She continued to shrink, beyond the point of birth. The fetus became   
smaller still, until it was a zygote. It became a single cell, floating in the   
air, and would have been too tiny for the horrified watchers to see, if not for   
the fact that it was glowing.   
Lightning struck from the cloudless sky.  
The cell split.  
The process began to reverse. The zygote split and grew, forming two   
fetuses, two infants, two children. The twins cried in suffering as they   
continued to grow. The cries became screams as the children became teenagers.   
Soon they were very recognizable as the girl everyone had known as Reiko   
Chimidoro, one a mirror image of the other, right down to the scars that covered   
their naked bodies.  
The screams stopped.  
The sky became light again.  
And the two collapsed onto the pile of Reiko's clothes.   
  
While everyone else hadn't yet closed their mouths, Kasumi had produced   
one of Akane's gis.  
"Akane, I think one of them will be needing this."  
"U-um, right. Ranma! Don't look!"  
"All those fireworks and you don't want me to look?" Ranma asked   
incredulously.   
*BASH*  
"They're naked, baka!"  
Akane stepped off of Ranma's head and quickly ran to the twin Reikos. She   
dressed one unconscious girl in her gi, and the other in Reiko's.  
"What you thinking, Great-grandmother?" Shampoo asked. "They no twin   
babies. What do now?"  
"I'm not sure Shampoo, but we must turn this to our advantage. How about   
'divide and conquer'?"  
"Is good strategy." Shampoo said. The twins were beginning to stir.   
Shampoo jogged up and turned one groggy girl to face the other, whom Akane was   
trying to reassure.  
"There no can be two Reiko Chimidoro. You must fight, kill her, so you   
can be the only one. That only way to continue normal life."  
"What the hell are you talking about, Shampoo?" Akane yelled. "This is   
all your fault!"  
Ranma blinked in surprise. "You mean it's not my fault for once?" He   
muttered to himself, rubbing his head.   
The twins looked at each other; then, almost simultaneously; they smiled   
grimly.  
"She's right, though." One said.  
"We must fight." The other agreed, standing.  
"Dominance must be established, if nothing else."  
"I agree. Although, we did promise not to kill anymore, and..."  
"...even under such unusual circumstances, that promise must hold."  
"Then let's begin." They both took fighting stances.  
"No!" Akane yelled. "You'll get hurt!"  
Shampoo giggled. Her plan worked perfectly.  
The twins smirked again. "No need..."  
"...to worry, Akane."  
"Neither of us..."  
"...is going to have a scratch."  
"Huh?" Akane said  
"What?" Shampoo said.  
  
Both twins spun away from each other and turned on Shampoo. One crouched   
low for a hard punch to Shampoo's gut. The other leapt for a simultaneous   
flying kick to her jaw. Shampoo flew back from the double blows and slammed   
against the tree. She slumped to the ground, out cold.  
"Now for..."  
"...the other one." The twins growled, facing the old woman.  
"Man! I wouldn't want to be in the old ghoul's place right now." Ranma   
whispered.   
Cologne took a few steps backward. Logic told her that Reiko Chimidoro   
was not quite in her league, but for those who knew it, the Bloody Dragon   
School's name created a kind of fear like no other.   
And she had to face two of them.   
Both Reikos leapt at the old amazon like snarling beasts, but their   
fighting method(s) weren't wild. Cologne was hard pressed to fend off the   
vicious attacks of such a skilled (pair of) fighter(s). Fortunately, they   
seemed to be taking turns, one for a few moments, then the other.   
Unfortunately, that meant Cologne was constantly busy defending, and would   
tire twice as fast at the twins. Whatever advantage the old woman had in skill   
was inadequate against this vicious pair.   
After a short while, Ranma realized that the twins had changed tactics;   
they were both going around in circles. Was Reiko trying to use the   
Hiryuushotenha? No, maybe it was Cologne. Both twins seemed absolutely   
infuriated. They were not putting forth the 'soul of ice' necessary to contrast   
an opponent's hot battle aura. It must be Cologne's spiral then.  
Cologne was almost surprised to realize that they were going in circles,   
but that suited her fine. She began dodging in the appropriate directions to   
form the spiral. With the battle aura these two were putting out, this   
Hiryuushotenha was going to be a powerful one.   
Cologne was one step away from the finishing blow when both Reikos stopped   
dead. They cooled their auras rapidly, then simultaneously struck upward   
creating two powerful Hiryuushotenha tornadoes formed from the trail of their   
OWN battle auras. The twin tornadoes spun in the same directions, both   
clockwise, which meant that the point where they met (where Cologne was   
standing) was being crossed by two violent winds going in opposite directions.   
Cologne screamed long and loud as she was savagely buffeted into the sky.   
The two Reikos caught their breath and smiled at each other.  
"That was..."  
"...really cool!"  
"Think she'll live?"  
"Do we really care?"  
"No, but what about that promise?"  
"Oh yeah. Well, I don't think he'll count it if..."  
"...if the death was accidental."  
"Right.  
Akane and Ranma walked up to the pair.  
"This is... weird." Akane said, looking from one to the other.  
"You have no idea." Both Reikos said simultaneously.   
"Yeah, like, what do we call the two of you?" Ranma asked.  
"Reiko." Both said. They looked at each other in surprise.  
"But I'm the original." Both insisted. They blinked at each other, then   
sat down hard in the grass.  
"I guess that this means..."  
"...that we both have the same memories."  
"So we're not just twins..."  
"...We're perfect copies."  
"So we have to call you Reiko1 and Reiko2?" Ranma asked.  
"But who would be one..."  
"...and who would be two?"  
"We're both 'Reiko'"  
"We even think the same way."  
"This is giving me a headache." Ranma said.   
"Me too." Akane said.  
The twins sighed and looked at each other.  
"So what now?"  
"You're asking me?"  
Kasumi stepped over Shampoo's body and offered a suggestion. "Why don't   
you two go have a bath? You're all sweaty from exercising."   
"Not a bad idea..."  
"...for a start."  
"Simplicity first..."  
"...then the complicated stuff later."  
With that, both rose and headed for the bath. The one in Akane's gi   
paused and turned back for a second. The other stopped and waited.   
"Thanks for the gi, Akane. I'll change into something else after my bath   
and give it back."  
"No problem." Akane said.  
The Reiko in the red gi cocked her head at the other as they headed   
inside. "So we can think separately. I didn't even think of thanking her."  
"Well, you're not wearing it." The other reasoned.  
"Good point. I suppose the only thing that separates us now..."  
"...is the memories and experiences we create form this point on."   
They entered the change room and stripped.   
They smiled at each other.   
"At least we can both say that..."  
"...we have the most beautiful sister we've ever seen." They both   
chuckled.  
As the stepped into the bathroom, both made for the stool in front of the   
shower. They stopped and looked at each other, smirked, and started a round of   
Janken (rock-paper-scissors) to decide who would go first. After 7 ties, one   
shoved the other onto the stool. They helped each other wash their hair and   
scrubbed each other's back.   
"You know," the one washing said, "I've been thinking."  
"I'm probably thinking the same thing, but shoot."  
"Would it be wrong for us to... you know."  
"No. Why should it be?"  
"Exactly, because it would be just like..."  
  
Ranma, having gotten himself splashed by Happosai for a grope, was waiting   
outside the bathroom. She hoped to be able to change back before the freak got   
back. He should be returning to earth any second now. What was taking the   
twins so long? Ranma slid the changeroom door open and listened near the   
bathroom door. She heard one or both of them (it was hard to tell) making   
strange moaning noises.  
"Are they giving each other backrubs or something?" She pondered. She   
knocked on the sliding door.  
"Hey, can you two hurry up, please?"  
"Just a few more minutes, Ranma. We're..."  
"...Almost there!"  
Ranma scratched her head. "Almost where?" she muttered to herself, before   
returning to the hall.   
  
The twins finished their... activity, which stretched the definition of   
masturbation about as far as it can go, and decided they needed to wash again.   
After a quick scrub, they both slid into the hot water of the Tendo's huge   
bathtub.  
  
Outdoors, Kasumi was hanging up the laundry when she heard thunder begin   
to rumble.   
"Oh my. I better get this down then." She looked up at the sky and   
stopped. There were no more clouds then usual, but the sky was rapidly   
darkening by some other means, as though night was suddenly dropping on them at   
11:30 am.  
"Oh... dear!"  
  
Ranma was tapping her foot impatiently outside in the hall when the   
screams started. They drowned out the sharp crack of thunder that startled   
Kasumi into grabbing the laundry and dashing inside, clouds or no clouds. Ranma   
pulled open the door and bolted into the changeroom. The twins were still in   
the bathroom. She hesitated a moment; they were naked after all. However   
concern soon overrode embarrassment and she dashed inside.  
Ranma was just in time to see Reiko collapse facedown into the bathwater.   
She quickly ran forward and pulled the unconscious Reiko out, looking   
around.  
"Where's the other one?"  
Pulling Reiko out and setting her head on her lap had gotten Ranma a little bit wet. As her body changed into his body, understanding dawned.  
"Oh, I get it! She changed back into an only child."   
Ranma had just finished a quick check of Reiko's breathing when the Akane   
came running through the door.  
"What was that screa- Ranma?"  
"Hey Akane, she chang-"  
*SLAP*  
"OW! What did I do?"  
"That's what I want to know!" Akane boiled. "What did you do to her   
while she's taking her bath that made her scream like that, huh? YOU ANIMAL!"   
*BASH*CRUNCH*BANG*  
"I didn't do nothin'! Waah! Akane, put down the ax, please!!!"  
"I'll castrate you, you HENTAI!"  
  
Hours later, when Reiko was awake, and Ranma's privates were safe (for the   
moment), the whole story came out.   
"When I... or her... um... well one of us, at any rate." Reiko said,   
clearly still confused. "That person got into the tub, and nothing happened,   
but when she- I- ARGH! When we both were in, the change started."  
"I suppose both twins have to get wet with hot water for the change to   
occur." Soun said.   
"Interesting." Genma said.   
"Funny," Reiko growled, "the word I would have chosen is excruciating."  
"It really hurts that much?" Ranma asked.   
Rei nodded. "It's like no pain I ever felt in my life. I'm not sure   
quite how to explain it... Imagine what it's like for a human body to grow up.   
Everything that happens to it; every cut, scrape, bruise, and broken bone; every   
headache, muscle cramp, pins-and-needles and case of indigestion. Now imagine   
having all of them at almost the exact same instant. And you can feel it both   
times, getting younger and growing back up."  
"Wow." Akane said quietly.  
"No wonder you scream." Ranma said.   
"I actually don't mind being a twin; it's a little confusing trying to   
sort it out when I'm just me again, but having a sister- er... being sisters is   
kinda nice. But the changing..." she trailed off. No one said anything for a   
while.   
Akane was thinking about Reiko's childhood. Constantly being beaten and   
hurt by her insane father, Reiko's 'instant' was probably a lot more painful   
than most people's might have been.   
  
Akane was taking a bath, when she heard a knock on the inner door. She   
started a bit; there weren't many people in this house (or the city, for that   
matter) who could make it that far without making any sound.   
"Akane, can I join you?" Reiko asked.  
"Sure."  
Reiko sat down on the stool and set about washing herself, with warm water   
of course.  
"So, how are you handling all this?" Akane asked from the tub. Reiko's   
hands froze.  
They started again a moment later, as Reiko finished and settled herself   
into the bath. Only then did she answer. Akane thought she looked awfully pale   
for someone sitting in hot water.   
"Akane... do you ever get scared?"  
"Huh? Well, sure, sometimes. Doesn't everybody?"  
"I don't. Ever. I get angry instead. Maybe my father trained me that   
way, maybe I made myself that way so I wouldn't be afraid of him, but in either   
case, I never get scared. Not since Mom died."  
Akane didn't know what to say.   
"Akane, I'm... scared."  
"Reiko..."  
Akane watched in shock as the stone-faced warrior began to crack before   
her eyes. A tear rolled down Reiko's cheek as she started to shake. "I... oh   
fuck, I'm crying! I'm sorry, I..."  
Akane hugged Reiko. "Don't apologise, let it all out."  
And as the final tumbler, shame, fell free, the floodgates opened wide and   
Reiko sobbed into Akane's shoulder. She clutched Akane like she needed her to   
live. Reiko cried for a long time. Akane felt a little weird having another   
girl's naked breasts pressed against her own, but Reiko really needed this.   
Akane knew her priorities.  
"You know, [sniff] it's not just the pain..."  
"Hmm?"  
"The change, it's not the physical pain that's the worst. The change   
brings back all the painful memories and emotions too. I saw flashes of growing   
up; the day Mom died, all the times he hurt her. All the nights I cried myself   
to sleep in her arms, before she went to lie down beside that monster like the   
dutiful wife she was. Every one of those moments, all piled on top of one   
another in the space of a few seconds. It's like my heart rips apart from   
grief.   
"I know I'll get used to it, getting hit with the pain. I'll harden   
myself against the pain, and eventually I won't feel it anymore. That's fine   
for the physical suffering, but I want the grief. I want to be sad when I think   
about my mother. That's the pain that drives me on, gives me purpose. If I   
become indifferent to my mother's death, what kind of monster would that make   
me? I don't want that to happen. I can't let that happen. I have to get rid   
of this curse!"   
"Shh, don't think of it like that. Every time you feel grief for your   
mother, treat it as a reminder of what you have to do. Then you'll never become   
indifferent."   
"[Sniff] Maybe you're right. I maybe I won't become indifferent, maybe   
I'll just go insane." Reiko laughed at that thought.  
Akane tried to.   
Reiko let go of Akane and stood from the bath. "Time to be the fearless   
warrior again." She grinned. She paused at the door. "Akane... thanks."  
"Anytime." Akane smiled.   
"Oh, no! She's leaving?" A slightly scratchy voice whined.   
Reiko and Akane both spun towards the window. Happosai had been sitting   
unnoticed on the window ledge.   
"I was kind of hoping for some sort of hot lesbian scene." He grumbled.  
Akane shrieked and sank deeper into the water, covering her front. Reiko   
didn't bother. She leapt across the intervening distance like a panther,   
pouncing on Happosai and knocking them both out into the yard.   
Perhaps Happosai might have been able to dodge better if he hadn't been   
concentrating on Reiko's firm breasts, swinging freely through the air. Oh, he   
loved the way they bounced as the two (people) landed, she driving his breath   
away (by slamming him into the ground). How delightfully they moved as she   
pivoted to draw back her arm for the vicious crane strike. And one mustn't   
forget the mossy grotto between her thighs, which spread slightly for his   
viewing pleasure as she lifted him well off the ground with a groin kick. Hmm,   
it seemed that extreme pain was threatening to break his concentration. He   
redoubled his efforts to take in her lovely body. Her breasts lifted adorably   
as she raised both arms, curling her hands into ripping Tiger-claw strikes.   
Shortly after she raked them down, his observation was being blocked by some   
unimportant warm red liquid that frustrated him by dripping into his eyes. He   
couldn't see anything through this stupid red junk! Soon, the world faded from   
the warm red to a cold black. Damn!  
Reiko wiped her fingers off on the grass. "I thought this guy was   
supposed to be some great master. He went down without throwing a punch. Hmph,   
well that's what you get for eavesdropping on a private conversation you   
hentai!" Reiko turned to see that most of the household was staring at her from   
the living room. "What?"  
"Um, maybe you should put some clothes on?" Kasumi suggested politely.   
Reiko blinked and remembered her current state. "Oops!" She calmly   
covered her important bits.   
Akane ran from the bath in a white cotton yukata, with another under her   
arm. After pausing to kick the slack-jawed Ranma in the back of the head, she   
threw Reiko some cover in all due haste.  
"Why'd you jump out like that without clothes?" Akane demanded.  
"Sorry about that, I guess everyone has their own set of priorities.   
Ranma will agree with me, I'm sure. Ranma?" Reiko pulled him up by his pig-  
tail and slapped him awake.  
"Uhh?"  
"Ranma, if Happosai splashed you into a girl when you were naked, what   
would you do first; cover yourself, or bash him?"  
"Bash him." Ranma said without hesitation.   
Reiko dropped his head back to the floor. "See?"  
"But Ranma's a guy; you're a girl!" Akane insisted.   
Reiko shrugged. "I guess I'm just not much of a girl, then."  
"Don't say that! What about what you just-"  
Reiko snapped her a cold glare that cut Akane's sentence off short.   
"What were you just saying, Akane?" Nabiki asked.  
"N-nothing. There's nothing. She's never shown a moment of feminine   
weakness, to my knowledge."   
Reiko smiled, giving her a wink.  
"Lunch is ready, if you two want to get dressed." Kasumi said happily.  
  
***  
  
"Great-grandmother, evil-girl beat Shampoo, twice. Must give Kiss of   
Death?"  
"Hmm. According to tradition, yes. On the other hand, it would be   
foolish to go after her in the same way as you did Son-in-law when you thought   
he was a girl. We must satisfy our honour, but I don't think we can do it in   
the normal way. Chimidoro Reiko was too much for you before, and thanks to that   
botched-up curse, she's now twice as dangerous. To formally give the Kiss of   
Death would only warn her of the coming danger. If we are to kill her, we shall   
have to use our brains more than our Amazon strength."   
"Great-grandmother have gift for understating obvious." Shampoo muttered.   
"Lights out you two." The nurse said, as she slid the curtain between   
their hospital beds.   
"Hmph. Well, it appears we'll have plenty of spare time to come up with a   
plan." Cologne muttered.  
"What Shampoo say before?" The girl sneered.  
"Watch your tone! If my arms weren't encased in plaster, I'd smack you   
for your impudence!"  
"Shampoo safe then, crazy old woman!" She stuck out her tongue audibly.   
"Nyee!"  
"Why you little brat! I- ARRRGH! That hurt!"  
"HAHAHAHA!"  
"Alright you two! Time to go to sleep!" The nurse said insistently.   
  
***  
  
"That wretched... Girl!" Kodachi snarled, frustrated at not being able to   
find an appropriate adjective. Why couldn't she have a more distinguishing   
characteristic, like the pig-tailed-girl?  
"Curse her! She frustrates me at every turn! I can't even curse her in   
the traditional Kunou family manner!"  
"Why not simply use her name, Mistress?" Sasuke asked. He stood at the   
side of her bed, fanning her with a palm branch.  
She swatted at him, but missed when moving brought pain... well, discomfort anyway. "Urgh! Oohh."  
"Mistress! Please, you'll aggravate your injuries." Sasuke pleaded.   
Kodachi had little choice but to relent. The severe blow to her solar   
plexus was badly bruised, or had been a week ago. To move about normally was   
slightly uncomfortable, therefore, the noble heiress to the house of Kunou was   
bedridden, being waited on hand and foot by her loyal Bootlic- um, Ninja,   
Sasuke.  
"That trollop doesn't deserve the dignity of being referred to by her   
name. What was it again, anyway?"  
"Chimidoro Reiko, Mistress."  
"Hmph! A filthy commoner, no doubt. Yet one should be certain of such   
things. Sasuke! I want you to check her background. I want to know exactly   
who it is I must destroy to free my Darling Ranma."  
"Yes Mistress! I'll go immediately to city hall and have her name traced.   
If a nobleman so much as sneezed on one of her ancestors, I'll discover it."  
"Not now, you fool! Who would fan me if you left? Go tomorrow, on your   
day off."  
"B-but Mistress, wouldn't that defeat the purpose of me having a-"  
"SASUKE!"  
"[sigh] yes Mistress."  
"And fan harder. I'm getting flushed here."  
"Yes Mistress."  
  
***  
  
Reiko went to her first day of school quite nervous. She was not   
particularly concerned about classes, fitting in, or normal stuff like that.   
She had more important things to worry about. However, she didn't even know about the devious plans others were creating against her.   
Not that she'd give a damn if they were.  
No, Reiko was walking to school with Ranma, Nabiki and Akane looking left,   
right, and behind her in a cautious pattern for an entirely different reason.  
She just didn't want to get wet.  
"What are you so nervous about?" Ranma asked her. Paranoia just didn't   
seem to fit Reiko's confident (ok, arrogant) personality.   
*SPLASH*  
"Things like that." Reiko answered, as Ranma-chan stood glaring at the   
little old lady washing the street in front of her door. Reiko had avoided the   
hazard by a good 3 metres more than she'd needed to. In fact, she was hiding   
(not that that was a very wise word to say to her face) behind Akane.   
"Calm down, Reiko." The youngest Tendo insisted. "Getting hit with water   
isn't something that happens every day."  
"It does to him." Reiko countered, pointing at the soggy Ranma-chan.   
"I've heard the tales."   
"You are not going to get wet today!" Akane tried to change the subject.   
"Nabiki, Reiko's going into your class, right? What's the schedule for today?"   
Hopefully, Reiko could concentrate on the challenge of being in a new school   
rather than constantly looking out for water all day.  
Nabiki thought for a minute. "Let's see... Math, English, Economics,   
Classics, gym..."  
"What are you guys doing in Gym?" Akane asked. She was rewarded to see   
Reiko look at Nabiki with interest.  
"I think it's swimming." Nabiki said.  
Reiko did a 180. "I'm going home."  
Akane and Ranma-chan each grabbed an arm.   
"You are going to school!"   
"Relax Reiko!"  
"Let go you idiot! You're wet!" Reiko snapped.  
"Just a bit damp. It won't trigger the change in you. Trust me, I _have_   
experience!" Ranma-chan sighed.  
"You can tell them you don't swim." Akane offered.  
"Then they'll try to teach me! Let me go!"   
"You'll think of something! Now come on, we're going to be late!" Akane   
cried.  
Nabiki sighed and shook her head as she looked on. Ranma-chan and Akane   
were resorting to dragging Reiko to school by force.  
"I got her arms!" Ranma-chan said.  
"I got her fe-" *WHAP* "OW! I guess I don't." Akane groaned, picking   
herself of the ground.   
"What'd you kick her for?" Ranma-chan demanded, managing to keep his grip   
on Reiko's other end, for now.   
"I'M NOT GOING! DO YOU HEAR ME? I'M NOT STEPPING WITHIN A FUCKING   
KILOMETRE OF THAT POOL!"  
Nabiki looked at her watch and decided to walk ahead. She sighed tiredly,   
wondering if it were not too late to get the newly aquaphobic psychopath put   
into some other class. On the other hand, as the last year and a bit had   
clearly shown her, weird people could be very profitable if handled right.   
"PUT ME DOWN OR I'LL RIP YOUR LUNGS OUT!"  
"You promised me you wouldn't kill people anymore, remember?" Ranma-chan   
teased.  
"THEN I'LL JUST EAT YOUR EYES! GET YOUR HANDS OFF ME!"  
Then again, some business ventures just weren't worth the risk.  
  
***  
  
Cologne awake lay in the hospital bed long after the lights were turned out. Even after Shampoo's breathing had become the deeper, steadier rhythm of sleep, she was still awake, weighing her options.   
While Shampoo would be out of here in a few days, she on the other hand, was going to be immobile for quite some time. While the girl could probably carry out much of whatever sneaky plan the old woman came up with, Cologne had to admit that this opponent was far too dangerous for her to take on alone, should the trap be discovered before it was sprung. There was always assassination; a sniper's bullet from afar, but that was so... impersonal. The Amazon way was to show your strength in personal combat, but Reiko was way out of Shampoo's league, and now with her ability to effectively double her fighting strength, she was beyond Cologne's ability as well.  
That part was a bit hard to swallow, but it was the truth.   
The Amazon way was combat, but assassination would more likely succeed.   
What to do? What to do?  
Then she had a solution. She didn't like it. In fact, if the village council got wind of it, Cologne could expect challenges of her right to lead the tribe to be coming at her left and right; and in the Joketsuzoku, challenges came with a blade before words.   
No. The council must never know of this.   
The Sisters of the Bloody Hand had been banished for a reason.  
  
***  
  
...  
"So what are you doing here anyway, Genma? I thought you'd be at a dojo   
of your own." Taiyama asked.  
"Um... well... we don't have a dojo of our own just yet. We're still on   
our training journey, but we've settled down for a while here at the home of my   
good friend Soun, to help him with his classes. He has no sons to assist with   
the teaching you know."  
"Ah... I see." Taiyama nodded.  
Akane almost rose from her seat to accost Genma, but a tiny headshake   
convinced her to save it for later. Soun also glared at his friend, wondering   
why he hadn't mentioned the engagement to Akane. The joining of the Tendo and   
Saotome schools was something in which he knew Genma took great pride. He must   
have a good reason for denying it. Soun was patient enough to wait.   
Further conversation was halted as the four martial artists in the room heard the sound of a heavy pack thumping quietly to the floor in the front hall. No one had heard the shoji doors slide open and closed, which meant that whoever was in the hall had manipulated them silently, for a devious purpose. Ranma rose to challenge the intruder, but Taiyama put a hand on his shoulder to stop him. When Ranma sat down and looked at him quizzically, the big man just put a finger in front of his lips for silence. Taiyama grinned arrogantly, knowing he could easily avoid that weak girl's attack.  
A blur of red death shot through the doorway. Taiyama attempted to roll away, but he wasn't nearly fast enough to avoid the 'weak' girl he'd raised. The Tendos and Saotomes all jumped back in horror as the reddened tip of a katana suddenly was protruding from the centre of Taiyama's torso.   
The big man didn't move. As his eyes slowly widened in fear, a dark wet line crept up the black gi from the sword tip to his right shoulder. The line grew broader as the blood spread. Reiko grasped his hair with her left hand and jerked back, the sudden movement causing the deep cut to split apart. It spurted blood over half her face, but she didn't flinch. In fact, she licked the blood from her lips with relish.  
She put her cheek up against his, grinning maniacally as she whispered into his ear.  
"What does karma feel like father?" She hissed. "Does it hurt? Do you see all the things you've done to deserve this flashing before your eyes? There's quite a few. I wouldn't want you to lose consciousness before you've remembered at least a few of the more important ones. How about we start with Mom?  
"That wonderful woman gave you everything she had to give. She gave you her body, her family's money, her complete obedience, a child, and eventually, even her life. And what did you give her in return? You took her pride, her money, her spirit. You raped her, you beat her, you insulted her for crying when you hurt her, and then you killed her for your own selfish pleasures. Think back. Think hard. Was there ever even a single thing she failed to give you?   
"Ah yes, a son. She had three miscarriages before I was born, and two after. I wonder if it ever occurred to you why that was? Are you really so stupid to think that massive body blows to the stomach might not affect her unborn children? You murdered every one of those children with your own hands, and who knows; one of them might even have been the son you wanted so badly. You killed a piece of her with every one of those bloody fetuses too, and when she had nothing left in her to give you, not even blood, you tried to console yourself with the knowledge that at least you could marry your daughter off to some bastard to be your male heir, and give you a grandson.   
"Well, I have some knowledge you can take with you to hell, father; you'll never have a grandson, because I'll never spread my legs for a man like you, or any other type of man!"  
Taiyama's body was shivering with agony as Rei shoved his head forward again, pulling the sword out of him as she stood and raised it over her head.  
"YOU'RE INHUMAN LEGACY DIES WITH YOU, YOU BASTARD!" Reiko screamed, bringing down the blade in a fatal arc that sent her father's head rolling onto the Tendo's coffee table. There it stopped, his dead face frozen in an expression of fear that looked up at his blood-soaked daughter.   
Reiko was panting with emotion, as the rest of the living occupants cowered in shock at the far end of the room. She collapsed to her knees, leaning her forehead on the handgrip of her father's sword. She began to laugh. It was a harsh, cruel sound that she hoped would echo in his dead ears all the way down to his final judgment.   
The laughter dissolved into sobs.   
"Mom... it's finally over. You can rest in peace now. He'll never hurt you again."   
Kasumi, shaking badly, stepped forward to try and comfort her, but her father grabbed her arm and pulled her abruptly back, shaking his head sharply as he continued to stare wide-eyed at the blood covered killer who still held the sword.   
Reiko continued to kneel there, sobbing for her mother's memory, for a very long time.  
  
Reiko awoke with tears in her eyes. She looked around and discovered she was in Akane's bedroom. She wiped the tears away and smiled before rolling over and going back to sleep.  
That was one of her favorite dreams.   
  
  
***End of chapter 3***  
  
  
Well, we got a little ecchi in the bathroom their with the twins, but that's about as close as I usually come to writing a sex scene. Sorry hentai fans! :)  
Come to think of it, I remember there being some sort of twin-water being brought in by Pantyhose Tarou to splash Happosai with in his second appearance. I probably didn't have to go bugging my Chinese friends for translations. (Author goes to look it up) Here we go, Vol. 23. Hmm. Takahashi-sama calls it Shuanshentsuniichuan. That's a mouthful too, and I'm not quite sure it was supposed to do what I wanted my twin-water to do. But now everyone probably thinks that's where I got the idea. Figures, I finally come up with an idea I'm pretty sure no other fanfic author has used yet, and it's Takahashi-sama herself who makes me look like a hack. Oh well...   
  
Questions, comments, suggestions and even whining, can all be directed to me at  
hinoron@hotmail.com   
Ja na!  
  



	4. Chapter Four

Chimidoro no Ryuu   
Chapter 4  
  
A Ranma 1/2 Fanfiction by Hino, Ron  
  
================================================================================  
*** WARNING! FIRST DRAFT! ***  
Chapters 3-6 are in desperate need of revision, perhaps even total rewrites of the plot. I've sat on them for a while, but I'm not sure what elements I want to keep and what's a useless pile of biological waste. I've been told I let people get too far out of character, but sited examples and suggestions would be much appreciated, as well as anything else that sucks about it. Please review these chapters and then forget you ever saw them! Only Chapters 1 & 2 should be considered ready for public viewing.  
Suggestions to hinoron@hotmail.com  
Thanks much for your assistance.   
================================================================================  
  
Just a brief foreword:   
1. Ranma and friends are owned by Rumiko Takahashi and a bunch of corporations.   
Except for the new characters, everyone else belongs to her and them. I don't   
own them. Please don't take ideas or (my) characters from this story without my   
permission.  
2. "Chimidoro no Ryuu" means, loosely translated (by which I mean, badly   
translated) "Bloody Dragon". That would make the full name of the School   
"Chimidoro no Ryuu Ryu" (ryu meaning a martial arts school/style). To avoid the   
confusion, it will always be written as the Chimidoro no Ryuu School, or the   
shorter Chimidoro school, though in the second case it is a reference more to   
Reiko's family name then the school's title.  
3. I've stopped going through and manually wordwrapping each line, (Except for   
this foreword, of course) so download this and read it with a word processor.  
  
"Alright! Shut up and let's go!"  
Okay, okay. (Sheesh!)  
  
================================================================================  
  
[Kunou mansion]  
  
"Mistress Kodachi! I have discovered the origins of the girl who knocked you senseless."  
*WHACK*  
"Ow. Um... the girl who defeated you through underhanded and foul means."  
"Much better." Kodachi said, leaning back in her deck chair where she had been sunning. She loved the warmer months. "So, anything interesting about the commoner?"  
"I don't believe the current generations of the family are particularly wealthy Mistress, but her family history is anything but common." Sasuke said awkwardly.  
She sat up in surprise. "What utter nonsense. I've never heard the name Chimidoro before I met that girl. They can't be that important!"  
Sasuke looked rather uncomfortable. "Actually Mistress, the name should have struck me the moment I heard it, but I was very young when my grandmother told me about the Chimidoro no Ryuu School. After I made the connection, I went to speak with one of my aunts who is still living. She told me all the stories again, refreshing them in my memory."  
Sasuke, seeing he had his Mistress's full attention, took a deep breath and went on. "250 years ago, they were a samurai clan whose name was as well known as the Kunous. That name is now lost to time, at least officially. If this Reiko has been taught her family history, she may know it. In any case, the head of the family was a mighty and merciless warrior, famous for having personally thwarted seven attempts of Ninja assassination, four of those were upon himself. He was said to be extremely arrogant, and looked down at those lords who fell to the Ninja with scorn. He once even ridiculed the shogun, for showing fear at the thought of Ninja sneaking into his castle. For this insult, his clan lost much of its political power.   
"The head of the clan changed its name, to Chimidoro, and started the Chimidoro no Ryuu School of Bujitsu; the Bloody Dragon School. He trained the men of his family in some of the most violent and brutal techniques in creation. There was even a nasty rumor that he had learned some of those techniques under a Ninja master. The first person he heard that rumor from was split completely in half with the family katana. He was well known as a man who despised the ninja above all else. He claimed that he thought up of many of the special techniques himself, and if ninja had similar skills, that just meant they also knew how to kill effectively; that some ninja were nearly as creative as he was.  
"Though the family were officially political outcasts, it appears that many Daimio 'hired' them with favors, to wipe out whole families of ninja. They were quickly given the nickname 'The Ninja Killers'. They were famous for it. The fees they eventually charged for their services were astronomical, but no one could deny that they did there job thoroughly. They were even known to refuse payment on occasion because they felt they had not yet tracked down the last members of a family they had promised to wipe out."  
Sasuke gave a small shudder. "They always managed to collect their fees within two years though, tracking down the last survivors with an insane fixation. My own clan, not a particularly big or famous ninja family, survived by remaining that way. We didn't draw attention to ourselves more we could avoid, but ninjas who don't hire out have difficulty acquiring enough rice to eat. Eventually, we became the retainers of your noble ancestors, strengthening your clan physically while protecting my clan politically."  
"My mother used to tell me to behave, or the Chimidoro Ninja Killers would get me in my sleep. I often had nightmares of a samurai drenched in blood, stronger, faster, more agile and vicious then I could ever hope to be if I trained every day for decades."  
He looked up at her with serious eyes. "Mistress, if their family has survived, I'm not surprised that you were defeated. A Chimidoro is more dangerous than any ninja. I suggest you avoid her if at all possible."  
Kodachi tilted her head back with that that disturbing laugh. "OHOHOHOHO! So, a bloodline to match my own, eh? Until their boorish behavior brought them down to their rightful place; that of common thugs for hire. Such a Yakuza-like harlot shan't keep me from my Ranma-sama for long!"  
"Mistress, did you listen to a word I said after the first two minutes?" Sasuke groaned.   
"I'll just have to remind her of her station in life, then! OHOHOHO!"  
"Are you even listening to me right now?"  
She skipped away over rooftops, twirling her ribbon and leaving a trail of black rose petals behind her.  
"I guess not." Sasuke groaned. This was going to be bad.  
Very bad.  
  
***  
  
In a dingy, yet reasonably sized apartment in Hong Kong, an attractive young woman of about 26 answered the telephone. Her name was Shin. If one looked close, one could see a tiny pink scar extending outward from the crease of each of her eyes. Some sick racist foreigner had drugged her drink, then dragged her back to his room and tied her up. He had wanted to make the 'slant' of her Chinese eyes more exaggerated.   
Her older sister had arrived before he had done anything more... carnal. While her sister held him still, she decided to make the roundness of his eyes more exaggerated... by gouging them out. They left him there screaming.   
She kept the eyes as a souvenir.   
Now, her sister Xian lounged on the large bed and watched her talk on the phone. From the sly grin, she knew that Shin was negotiating a deal for their services. Xian left all this planning and arguing stuff to her. It was more her style.   
Xian was by no means fat in any way, but she was definitely a 'big girl'. She was a head taller than her younger sister, and broader shouldered. She was not fat-joke big, she was fuck-with-me-and-I'll-snap-your-little-neck-like-a-twig big, and she'd done that more than once. That was more _her_ style. They'd once had to work at a strip club when money had been tight. Shin was a dancer, Xian a bouncer. And no one _ever_ tried to mess with Xian.   
Shin put the phone down and turned to Xian.  
"[So, we got a job? I don't wanna end up in that strip joint again.]" Xian growled.   
Shin smiled. "[Oh, it wasn't so bad. I thought it was kinda fun.]"  
Xian snorted. They had not left their home in the Joketsuzoku to tabledance.   
"[Yes we have a job, but you'll never guess who for.]"  
"[One of the Triads, right?]"  
"[Nope.]"  
"[Some big business?]"  
"[Nope.]"  
Xian remembered she hated stupid games like this. "[I give up.]" She muttered as she lay back and closed her eyes.  
Shin plopped down on the bed and looked her right in the eyes. She didn't want to miss her sister's facial expression.  
"[Cologne.]"  
Xian's eyes shot open. "[The Matriarch?!?]"  
"[The very same.]"  
"[No way! What does she need our help for? She's better then either of us.]"  
Shin shrugged. "[Probably there's some reason she can't attack this person openly. Or there's some conflict with her stupid honor. I think it's pretty ironic; she and the council threw us out for being hired blades, then she turns around and hires us herself. I jacked our usual price up 50%, just 'cause it's her.]"  
Xian looked troubled. "[Shin, I don't want to kill Amazons, not for money.]"  
Shin scowled. "[Why not! They threw us out on our own, just because we thought we should gain a little coin with our face.]" She shook her head. "[Anyway, it doesn't matter. She wants us to meet her in Japan, so it's probably not another council member.]"  
"[Japan? What the hell's she doing there?]"  
"[We'll ask her when we get there. Come on, start packing.]"  
  
***  
  
"Get off me, you old pervert!"   
"Come on Ranma, just try it on. It's got black lace and everything!"  
"I ain't wearin' it you sick creep! Lemme go!"  
Akane rubbed her temples as she sat at the living room table with Reiko. Reiko just watched with mild amusement as the two flailed all around the house.   
"Why do you think he keeps going after Ranma, if there's two real girls right here?"  
"I don't know and I don't care." Akane muttered. "Probably has something to do with the size of 'his' chest. Men are pigs!"   
Reiko chuckled. "I know. I can't figure them out at all." She snagged Happosai on Ranma-chan's next pass near the table.   
"Hey Happosai, I got a question for you." Ranma-chan just ran off to get hot water while she had a reprieve.   
"Oh, you want to try it on yourself? Go ahead, I don't mind."  
Reiko rolled her eyes. "A different question: why underwear? I don't see the attraction; it's just pieces of cloth."  
"Ah, the soft feel of silk and satin. Nothing is as captivating as the thought that this material once rubbed up against a young girl's most private places. Tender protection of the softest flesh in the world. No man has any place on him quite as soft and yielding as the breasts of a young maiden. And as for the flesh the panties rub against, woohoo!"  
"Alright, alright, I'm sorry I asked." Reiko muttered, tossing him and his silky piece of heaven out the open doorway.   
"Don't try to understand perverts, just bash 'em." Akane sighed.  
"That's good advice, unless they're masochists. Then bashing them just gets them off." Reiko smirked.  
"Eww!"  
"I wonder if Kunou's that type?" Reiko mused.  
"He's not bothering you too, is he? I forgot he was in your class."   
Reiko smirked. "Not anymore. The first day, he demonstrated that he was going to become annoying if I didn't scare him away. So I got out my photo album."  
"You have a photo album? How come I've never seem it?"  
Reiko winced. "It's not something I usually show to people. My father was very proud of my victories. In fact, that's probably the only time he was ever proud of me. Every time I won a challenge match, he took a picture."  
"Well, that's normal, isn't it?" Akane smiled.  
Reiko looked away. "Akane, remember how the Chimidoro no Ryuu School ends nearly all challenge matches?"  
Akane's smile went away. Death.   
"So... the pictures..."  
"A Polaroid of the corpse."  
"God!"  
Reiko shook it off. "Anyway, I changed my outward attitude toward that bokken boob completely. I acted like I want to date him. I told him I liked fighter types, then I came up with an excuse to show him pictures of my old boyfriends. It was funny as hell watching the blood drain out of his face. Now he's terrified of me."  
"Well, who wouldn't be?"  
Reiko froze, then looked up at her like a kicked puppy.  
"I... I'm sorry Reiko, I didn't mean it that way." Akane stumbled. "I just-"  
"Akane," Reiko interrupted softly, "are _you_ afraid of me?"   
"Well... I..."  
At her hesitation, Reiko just closed her eyes tightly. Akane knew she had taken that as a 'yes'. She needed to clarify, fast.  
"I'm a little afraid of you seriously hurting somebody, and getting into trouble, going to jail, that sort of thing. As for hurting me? I'm pretty sure you'd never do that."  
"Pretty sure?"  
"Ok, I'm positive. You're my friend, and friends don't do that to each other."  
Reiko smiled. "Thanks. It's nice to have someone trust me." She leaned over and hugged Akane tightly.  
If Akane had thought about it, it might have occurred to her that Reiko seemed to like hugging her a lot. Then she would remember what her father was like: cold-hearted, violent and abusive; constantly referring to his daughter as a weak unworthy woman, and several less polite terms. That awful man had been Reiko's only family since she was seven. The poor girl was probably starved for affection. Akane could easily forgive her for being a little more touchy-feely than she was really comfortable with.  
If she thought about it, that is.  
  
***  
  
"Pig-tailed girl! Akane Tendo! Such joy to have both my two loves in a single place!" Kunou cried as he dashed up to them as the residents of the Tendo household walked to school.   
"Don't you mean three, Kunou dear?" Reiko grinned, as she stepped from behind Akane. "You love me too, don't you?"  
Kunou skidded to a halt several feet from where he would otherwise have been punted into the stratosphere. His face went a ghostly white.   
"Er... um... forgive me my loves, but I believe I've forgotten my books at home." He stuttered as he dashed off, making a failing attempt to turn while keeping his body between his bookbag and the girls.   
Ranma-chan, who had wound up for the usual uppercut, just blinked. "What the hell was that all about."  
"T'would seem the young Romeo is a trifle fearful of my affections." Reiko said, mimicking Kunou's speech before letting loose a peal of Evil Laughter(tm).   
Akane just shook her head with a sigh. Ranma-chan wanted to know how Reiko accomplished it. Nabiki just wondered for the umpteenth time why Reiko had to be in _her_ class.  
  
A slender figure and a larger one watched from a rooftop as the four continued to school.   
"[Four girls and a boy.]" The slender form mused in Mandarin. "[The boy's in Chinese clothes, so he's probably Xian Pu's husband, and we're not supposed to touch him. That would make the one with long hair our target, and the other two...]"  
"[Expendable.]" The larger one grunted.  
"[Hmph. We're in a foreign land with foreign laws. The locals might not take too kindly to a couple of Chinese going on a killing spree.]"  
"[Who cares? Do the police carry guns in Japan?"]  
"[How should I know? In any case, I'd kinda like to ride the plane back in one of the seats instead of hiding in the cargo bay.]"  
"[Alright, we'll try to avoid a big scene. That means we have to take the girl out when she's alone. We'll have to watch her for a while.]"  
"[How long?]"  
"[I dunno, a week probably.]"  
"[Damn! I hate foreign food.]"  
"[We could always eat at the Matriarch's restaurant. We might not even have to pay.]"  
"[No way. She has two other members of the tribe living with her, remember?]"  
The larger one sighed. "[Maybe there's other Chinese restaurants around. I'll look in the phone book.]"   
"[Good. Being able to order is always a plus in my eyes.]"  
"[I told you to study that 'Japanese for Tourists' book on the plane, but no! You had to get drunk and sleep the whole way!]"  
"[Oh shut up, Xian!]"  
  
***  
  
One night, Akane and Reiko were sitting on the roof. Normally this was Ranma's thing, but when Reiko picked up the habit, Akane wanted to see what she was missing. This particular night, Ranma was not depressed, hiding, or pondering deep deep questions, like...  
  
'What do I want to do? I can't let this go on forever. I need to make a decision. I'm only hurting myself by hemming and hawing here. Hmm. Okay! Time to get off my ass and make my choice!  
'Akane's cooking tonight and I'm going to eat... Ramen!  
'Boy I feel a lot better having gotten that tough decision off my chest. I was starting to get hunger cramps.'   
  
But such deep, life-changing dilemmas were not what had led Ranma from the roof tonight. That was what happened last night.  
And he'd been caught trying to escape.  
And he'd been forced to ingest Akane's indigestibles.  
And he was still bedridden as a result   
The fact that Akane had KO'd him with a mallet for apparently exaggerating his suffering didn't help his recovery.   
Besides, he wouldn't have been welcome anyway. Stargazing was an act for one person alone, or two good friends, or two good something-elses, but that shouldn't be relevant here, should it? At any rate, they were both lying on their backs looking up when Akane asked something deep.  
"Say Reiko? Can I ask you a personal question?"   
"Of course. I'm not guaranteeing an answer though."  
"What's it like to kill? Does it make you sad, excited, satisfied, nauseous? What do you feel like when you kill a person?"  
Reiko looked up at the sky and sighed. A personal question indeed.  
"Akane, I'm going to tell you a story. The setting doesn't really matter, but for the sake of familiarity, let's set it in Japan, during the War in the Pacific..."  
  
  
There was a good man in Japan, let's say in Okinawa somewhere. He made a decent living as a teacher, had two lively young girls who he adored, and of course, a beautiful and kind wife. He worked hard each day, came home and hugged his children, kissed his wife, and thanked the gods for all he had.   
Then the war was announced. The newspapers had inspirational words about joining at the front to protect the family you leave behind, and he believed them. He signed up to fight and said goodbye to his family, firmly believing that he was doing what was best for them. He hugged his children, kissed his wife, and prayed to the gods to keep them safe until he returned.  
The fighting was intense in jungles he was sent to. One day he was separated from the rest of his platoon when artillery started raining down. He ran through the trees and took cover behind a big rock at the top of a ravine. He saw an American soldier running down the ravine in a panic, probably wanting to get away from the artillery as well. Seeing him, the schoolteacher took aim and fired his rifle for the first time at a living target. There was a small spray of blood, a gurgling cry, and the American fell on his face.   
The schoolteacher slid down the ravine to make sure the man was dead, as he had been taught to do. The wounded man cried out as he was rolled over. He wasn't dead, but that was obviously a temporary condition. The American looked up into his eyes, helpless, and smiled.   
He opened his jacket and, making it clear he didn't have a gun, pulled an envelope and a picture from a pocket. Seeing the man barely had the strength to breathe, much less hurt him, the schoolteacher lowered his gun and kneeled next to the man.   
"Do you... speak English?" The American gasped.  
"Some." The schoolteacher replied.   
The American showed the picture, getting fingerprints of his own blood on the photo.   
"This is my family." The dying soldier said, indicating the woman and two young girls in the picture. He pushed the already addressed envelope and the picture into the schoolteacher's hand. "Please promise you will send this to my family."   
The schoolteacher felt a lump in his throat. He said he would do as the man asked. It might be years before there was any way to mail the letter, but he made up his mind to do so no matter how long it took. He also made his own letter to his family to keep on his person the next day, just in case he died too.  
Now the envelope was by no means clean. In fact, there was a bullet hole in one corner, and half of it was stained in blood. The schoolteacher couldn't bear to send the letter to the man's family like that. So, when he returned to camp, he got another envelope, and copied the address onto the clean one. When he went to move the contents however, the envelope contained only one thin sheet of paper as an actual letter, and a thick wad of American money, in small denominations. The American had been saving up all the extra pay he received and had wanted to send it home to his family, not spending it on whores or beer like his fellow soldiers did. The schoolteacher looked again at the photo of the man's family and burst into tears.  
That man would never hug his children.  
He would never kiss his wife.   
He would never again come home to his family.  
  
All because the schoolteacher had pulled that trigger.   
  
He deserted the next day, a complete pacifist.   
It was a great shame to come home like that, but he made it clear that he would never again fire a gun for his country, or anyone else, so the authorities left him after heaping upon him as much humiliation and shame as they could deliver to the coward. The schoolteacher went home. He hugged his children, kissed his wife, and prayed that the gods would never take him away from them.   
He kept the letter from the American soldier in the small shrine he had in his house, so he would never forget how sacred a father's love for his family was.   
He also hung his rifle on the wall near the shrine, so he would never forget how he came to have that letter.   
  
Perhaps you see the moral of this story, but it isn't finished yet.   
  
A year passed, then another. The Americans had beaten back the Japanese to their home islands. They invaded Okinawa by storm. The schoolteacher's wife begged him to load the rifle and defend their home, but he refused. The screams and gunfire drew closer, and she grew so desperate and frightened that she loaded the weapon herself. He yanked it from her hands and placed it back on the wall. He said he would never allow her to know how much it hurt to kill a man. She didn't understand and just screamed that he was a coward. He didn't grow angry with her, and just led her and his daughters to the shrine.   
He hugged his children, kissed his wife, and prayed for the gods to deliver them from this violence.   
As the screams and shots echoed around them, the schoolteacher just knelt there praying, with his terrified wife and daughters kneeling behind him. Several long minutes went by.   
When the American soldiers kicked in the door, the wife and children shrieked in terror, but the schoolteacher didn't even turn around, but continued to perform the ceremonies as he had done again and again. Cursing him for his cowardice, she snatched the loaded rifle off the wall and prepared to protect her children.  
The half-dozen seasoned soldiers cut her down before she could even swing the heavy gun up to her shoulder. In their haste to remove the threat to themselves, they had not all aimed carefully, and bullets struck and killed the two children cowering behind her as well.   
Some of the soldier's winced at having killed women and children, but it had been shoot or be shot. They watched the schoolteacher slowly turn and gaze in shaking horror at the scene behind him. They stood ready to fire on him should he attempt to avenge their deaths.   
The schoolteacher stood there a long time. Then he hugged his dead children, kissed his dead wife...  
And picked up the rifle, put it under his chin, and pulled the trigger.   
His last thought was that he wished he had taken up his rifle again and at least _tried_ to save his family.   
  
  
Akane swallowed past the lump in her throat. She wanted to cry, the story was so sad.   
"I... I don't get it." She confessed. "Was he right not to fight, or wrong?"  
"Both." Reiko said somberly. "At the beginning, he was a fool, listening to other people tell him why he had to kill. Then he was a killer, and couldn't stand the blood on his hands. Then he was a pacifist, who didn't want to hold his children with bloodstained hands. Finally, he was a fool again, when he allowed his fear of his own guilt to take away the most important thing he had in the world.  
"He killed when it wasn't necessary, then he refused to kill when it was."  
Akane was quiet while that sunk in. "Is it necessary to kill your father?" She asked in a small voice.   
Reiko took another deep, tired breath. "In the story (and reality), the Japanese government used propaganda to convince soldiers that they were fighting evil monsters in the Americans, and had it been true, then the Americans would need to be killed. The schoolteacher found out that he hadn't killed a monster, but a good man just like himself."  
Reiko closed her eyes, trying to block out memories. "Which do you think my father is? Tell me the truth. It's possible that by being around him so much, seeing all the things he's done, I might not be seeing him clearly. Is he really the monster I believe him to be? Is there any good in him?"   
Akane tried to think of something, some defense for Taiyama Chimidoro. She'd only known him a short time, but that was far longer than she had wanted to. He was violent, extremely sexist, a misogynist, a borderline rapist, a child abuser, and a murderer.  
"I can't think of a single good thing about him." Akane sighed in defeat. "Except that he is 50% responsible for allowing me to meet someone I consider to be a very good friend."  
Reiko smiled with her eyes closed. "Thanks. It's sweet of you to say. I've never had many friends. No one was brave enough to risk speaking to my father, let alone drop by for visits. That fucker ain't my father as far as I'm concerned; he's my sperm donor. Mom was the only one who ever treated me like I was loved. Father only sees what he can get for himself through me: a continuation or two of his family legacy, in other words, grandchildren. Hell, if I was sterile he'd probably consider me completely worthless."   
Akane winced, wishing not for the first time that she had never heard Dr. Tofu's diagnosis of Reiko's abdominal injuries. How can you possible keep a secret like this? How can you possible tell a girl something like this?  
Akane closed her eyes tight and turned her face dejectedly down towards the ground.  
Reiko saw Akane's depression, and knew she was the cause. Fortunately, she wasn't quite aware of why.  
"I'm sorry for whining about my personal life, Akane. I'm just bringing you down."  
"NO!" Akane insisted, startling Reiko. "Don't ever feel there's something you can't tell me. That's part of being a friend; you can talk about anything! I don't promise I'll like all of it, but I swear I'll always listen!"  
Had the light been a bit better, Akane might have seen tears sparkling at the edge of Reiko's eyes.  
"Thank you."  
  
***  
  
Shin scowled as the pounding on the motel room door awakened her. She willed it to go away, but apparently mind over matter was of little use in this situation. She crawled out of bed and grumbled her way to the door, intending to give whoever it was a piece of her mind, and possibly a piece of her fist as well.   
She opened the door and squinted against the daylight. When she could see, all she found was a knurled piece of wood apparently standing in front of her. When she looked down, she discovered the Joketsuzoku Matriarch down around the foot of the wooden stick.   
"[Ah, Cologne. What the hell do you want?]"   
Cologne scowled. True, since she was no longer a member of the tribe, Shin didn't _have_ to refer to her as Matriarch, but the unconcealed lack of respect irked her.   
"[It has been five days, and your target is still among the living. I'm not paying you to take a vacation!]"  
Shin sneered down at the old woman. "[As you are so fond of reminding us Cologne, this is not a simple hit. At your request, we are attempting not to involve either your great-granddaughter or your son-in-law in this matter. As we speak, Xian is tailing our target to establish the pattern of her movements, so that we can find a time when she is alone.   
"[Unfortunately, that rarely seems to be the case. A member of that household has been with her almost constantly for the last several days. In school, it's her classmate, the one with shoulder-length hair that does all the wheeling and dealing. At lunch the target eats with your son-in-law and the shorthaired girl of that family. Most of her spare time she spends with that girl, or training with your son-in-law. Last night she and the shorthaired girl spent much of the evening looking at stars on the roof.]"   
Cologne blinked. "[How do you learn all this by lazing about in this room?]"  
Shin snorted. "[Fool! We've been monitoring her 24 hours a day. Xian has the days, and I take nights. Obviously that means I sleep during the day. Right now in fact. Your job will get done once we can do so with a reasonable chance of not breaking any of your restrictions. Have a nice day, matriarch!]" She snarled as she slammed the door in the old woman's face.   
Cologne fumed. The brat had used her title this time, but the sarcastic tone of scorn she had used with the word threw away any illusions of respect that it might have otherwise carried. She sighed. Barely satisfied with the encounter, the old woman hopped away on her cane, wondering yet again if she'd made the right choice.   
Still, whether she had or not, there was no backing out now. The two Sisters of the Bloody Hand would not be pleased with the idea of canceling this 'hit' as they called it. Even if they were permitted to keep the money, they would be furious at having their time and skills wasted. Either one was a masterful fighter, but within Cologne's ability to handle.   
Both together, on the other hand...  
Well, that _was_ why she had hired them.  
  
***  
  
Xian grumbled. She disliked monitor work, especially on the jobs when she drew days. She was well aware that her muscular bulk stood out in a crowd (especially in this land of skinny, weak women) making her work more difficult. She could still stay out of sight, or at least unnoticed, but it was a lot harder for her to blend in in crowded areas than it would have been for Shin. It essentially meant a long day for her, every day. Shin on the other hand, would spend most of the night relaxing in the Tendo's big tree while their target slept (lucky bitch).   
At the moment, she was following the target and her friends home from school, staying a good block and a half behind, so that the distance would make her large size less obvious. Her ability to speak some Japanese was the only good reason for her to take days. The long-range microphone she had hidden up one sleeve allowed her to hear the majority of their conversations. She could have heard it all if she'd had an excuse to point her arm in their direction constantly, but a fake cast would only draw attention to herself.   
In any case, she could hear about three words out of five, which allowed her to piece together most of what they said.   
"Oh wait a --- ---. I forgot --- --- at the school. --- --- ahead and I'll --- --- and catch up ---." This was Reiko speaking, Xian realized.  
This was their chance! It might not come again for weeks, the way the girl clung to her friends' sides (you'd think she hated to be alone or something). She considered calling Shin, but it would take her sister 10-15 minutes to get here, by which time the girl would have grabbed whatever she forgot and hotfooted it back home to be with her friends. Xian might have to finish this job herself. Shin would hate that. It might also be difficult; this girl was supposed to be really good. Xian thought about how her sister relaxed all night and slept while Xian had to dodge eyes all day.   
Her turn to have fun.   
Xian turned onto a side street while Reiko ran past. After a few moments, Xian turned back and rounded the corner to meet Reiko on her return.  
She almost ran smack into the girl in question, who was obviously waiting for her.   
"Wha..."  
"You've been following me for days." Reiko said in a voice cold as ice. It was not a question.  
Xian just blinked.   
"There's also that girl that sits in the tree all night back at the house. For a while I thought you were bent on fighting or marrying Ranma; most people around here are. But you follow me even when he's not around. So you must want me."   
Reiko cocked her head. "I don't know you, so what do you want?"   
Xian smiled. The girl _was_ good. "Paid for kill you."  
Reiko smirked. "By who?"  
"You stupid? I no tell you."  
"It doesn't matter. I don't know any other Chinese who speak Japanese that badly. You're sent by Shampoo to kill me because she can't."  
Xian looked sincerely confused. "Why Xian Pu want kill?"  
"Please! Ranma's told me about that Amazon law. If an outsider defeats her, she has to give the kiss of death and kill me. Now I haven't been kissed yet, but she obviously doesn't want me to be watching my back. You're an Amazon too, aren't you?"  
Xian was stunned. "Yes." She said out of reflex. "No. Cast out of tribe. No more is Amazon. You outsider defeat Shampoo?"  
Reiko nodded. "And Cologne. Does she have to give the kiss of death too?"   
Xian's knees began to wobble at the implications. "Y-you defeat Cologne!" She shook her head. "Not by self!" She insisted.   
Reiko smirked, "Just me and myself. No one else."  
Xian looked at he ground, thinking. "This change everything. Maybe kill you later. Now have check things first."   
Reiko put her hands together in a Chinese-style bow. While she didn't know any of the language, she had at least spent some time studying Kung Fu. "I look forward to our fight. If Shampoo and the old ghoul sent you against me, you must be very skilled."  
Xian returned the bow of respect and then left.   
Reiko smiled at the sky. "Nerima seems to be a place with many training opportunities."  
  
***  
  
Xian waited in their room impatiently. She was late. Did something happen? Did-  
Shin opened the door.   
"[What happened! What did she say?]"   
Shin didn't answer. She went straight to the minifridge and pulled out a bottle of chilled beer. She put it to her lips and sucked it down in one huge pull (those bottles are _not_ the size usually for individuals).   
"[It took forever to drag the truth out of her, but yes, the girl did beat her.]" Shin said as she sat down quickly on the bed. Asians, as a general rule, do not have the alcohol tolerances of westerners. Xian was an exception to that generalization; Shin was not. The fact that she was slight of stature didn't help either.  
Xian sat down hard in her chair. "[That's incredible! And we have to go against this girl?]"   
Shin shook her head. "[It's not quite how it seems. She IS deadly, but she's also been hit with the Spring of Drowned Twins water from Jyusenkyo. It was the pair of them that defeated Cologne. According to her, they're better synchronized than any pair of real twins in the world, because they literally have the same mind, split into two brains for a time.]"  
"[Hmm. I'm not so sure we should take her on.]" Xian said.   
"[Are you nuts! We can take any little twin-brats! She's only 17!]"  
"[But if she, as twins, has such an incredible sync ratio, she might be impossible for us to beat. You and me have a lot experience fighting together, but we're still different people. One of us can do something without the other predicting it. She --or they-- won't have that weakness.]"  
Shin looked ready to cry. "[But that means we have to... to...]"   
"[What?]" Xian said, coming to her sister's side.  
Shin (drunk by now) broke down in Xian's arms. "[That bitch Cologne, she said... she said the main reason she hired us was that we could resort to methods that she couldn't, like a sniper shot from a far away building. Her Amazon pride won't let her do that, but we could, because we're just assassins... with no honor.]"   
Xian's face was red with rage. The worst insult the Elder could give, and more to the point, the old crone had made her little sister cry. Any respect Xian had felt she owed her former Matriarch had just died then and there.  
No honor, eh? Well, Xian and Shin would show her who had honor. They did not run from battles like a certain old woman and her granddaughter. They would kill this Reiko like they had promised to.  
And they would do it like Amazons.  
  
***  
  
When Reiko received the letter of challenge she was surprised. Assassins rarely bothered with such things. Nonetheless, she would arrive ready at the appointed time and place: 1:00 AM at the docks.   
"Akane, you really shouldn't have come along."  
"Then what if you get hurt?"  
"Then you get to fucking watch me get hurt! I don't know why they bothered to make this a formal challenge, but since they did, you can't interfere. I still think you being here is just asking for trouble. If there's two of them fighting me, they might mistake you for my fighting partner."  
"Would that be so bad?"  
"Remember that these are the people Cologne hired because she can't beat me herself."  
"..."  
Reiko noticed Akane's expression become even more somber. "Now what?"  
"What if you die?"  
Reiko thought about that one for a minute. "Cremate me. You deal with my ashes however you like."  
"Huh? Me?"  
"Sure. You're probably my best friend. My father won't want them anyway."  
"Why not?"  
"Unlike my mother, I haven't yet earned my place in the family plot." Reiko smiled grimly.   
"That's awful!"  
"It doesn't bother me nearly as much as you might think. I mean, as soon as my bastard of a father gets himself killed, I'd be lying at his feet for all eternity. I don't relish that thought."   
"... What about your mother? That's where she's buried. Wouldn't you want to be with her?"   
Reiko looked at her for a moment. Then she looked at the ground with a emotionless expression. "Akane... can you keep a secret?"  
"Sure."  
"Mom isn't buried there any more. She was, but she isn't now."  
"What! You don't mean he-"  
"No no. You see I've thought about this before, lying near that bastard for all time and that sort of thing. I didn't feel Mom should have to any more than I should. About a year and a half ago I ran away from home and dug her up."  
Akane remembered what she knew of the death of Reiko's mother and did the math. "But... she'd have been in the ground for... 8 1/2 years..."  
"Yeah... the body didn't exactly hold together all that well when I tried to move it. Eventually I had to get a bag. Want to know something though? Even as decomposed as she was, she still looked beautiful to me." Reiko sniffed back tears. "Is that sick?"  
"No." Akane said sincerely (while trying _not_ to get a mental picture). "That's love."  
Reiko smiled. "Anyway, after covering up the grave so no one would suspect, I found a wheel hub from a bus in a junkyard and used it to cremate her. Not the most dignified method, but I had little time and no money. I climbed to the top of the mountain near our dojo and scattered most of her ashes to the wind. She always loved the view from there. It was the place she always took me whenever my father would let us leave the house, which wasn't often."  
Akane smiled sadly. "What did you mean, 'most' of her ashes?"  
Reiko looked a little awkward. "Well, I wanted to keep part of her with me, but I knew I couldn't keep her in a pouch or anything like that. He'd want to know what it was, and if he ever figured it out, he'd not only beat my within an inch of my life, he'd destroy Mom's marker, since she's not buried there anymore. I guess that meant I shouldn't care about it; it's just a block of stone, but it was the only thing done to honor her since the day she married him."   
"Okay, so what did you do with the rest of her ashes?"  
Reiko looked ashamed. "...I... I ate them, about a small spoonful's worth."  
"What?" Akane cried. Actually, she cried _out_. Reiko was the one crying now.   
"I... I needed to keep part of her with me, and I couldn't think of anything better. It was stupid! I felt so ashamed as soon as I had to go to the bathroom. What kind of disgrace was that to her memory if I just shit her out? I never believed in gods much, but I started praying anyway that she'd somehow stayed in me, stayed in my body, like in the liver or something."   
That was about all Reiko got out before she completely broke down. Akane held her as she sobbed, grateful that no one else was around this area at this time of night.   
  
Reiko had never talked to anyone about her mother. There had never been anyone she could tell in safety before. By the time she was four, none of their few neighbors would let their children talk to her, advising their them to run for their lives if they ever saw any member of the Chimidoro family. Reiko's only confidant had been her mother, and that had all been brought to a screaming end in her seventh year. Her mother had died as much of her life was lived: in great pain. Her final scream as her husband thrust into her broken and worn down body had a truly surprising amount of lungpower behind it for a woman who hadn't been able to get out of bed for five months.   
Death screams were often like that.   
Little 7 year-old Reiko had known it instantly for what it was, and had run from the house in tears, running farther and farther until she collapsed in exhaustion. Choking sobs were not a very effective breathing method for running long distances. As soon as she could move again, she wondered which way to go. She felt ashamed for leaving her mother in her dying moments (even if her father _would_ have sent her flying into a wall for interrupting his 'private time' with Mommy). Still, what could she have done? What could she do now? Her only thoughts were for her mother. Would her father stop hurting her now that she was dead? Well, he _couldn't_ hurt her now that she was dead, and upon realizing that Reiko felt a rush of relief, immediately followed by guilt. You didn't feel relief when your Mommy died, that wasn't right. Now if it had been her father...  
And that was the day Reiko knew she had to kill him. She turned back to the house of horrors of her own free will and slowly began the long walk home.   
  
The day after Reiko had scattered (and digested) her mother's remains, her father had found her. He always found her, on the rare occasions she even tried to run away. She knew he'd find her this time as well, but felt it was worth it. Even as she lay in bed, unable to walk for two months, she was satisfied with what she had done.   
"Um, I think we're about two blocks from the place on the note, and it's 12:55." Akane said gently.  
Reiko let Akane go and wiped her tears. "You're right. I've got to get myself together."  
"Maybe you should postpone."  
"You know damn well I can't." Reiko said, taking deep, meditative breaths. They were in the outskirts of the docks, surrounded by warehouses and crates. Reiko sat on one and folded her feet up on top of her thighs, trying to calm herself through meditation.   
Three minutes later, Akane tapped her on the knee and Reiko opened her eyes, calm and centred once more.  
"Okay, let's go." She said cheerfully. Akane envied her a little, being able to shut down such profound grief in a few minutes. She'd have to ask Reiko for pointers with her own meditations.   
Well, assuming Reiko survived the night.   
  
  
***  
  
Shampoo looked once again at the envelope on her dresser. It had been handed to her by an attractive Chinese woman with scars at the edge of both her eyes. Shampoo thought the scars made her look vaguely catlike. Actually, Shampoo thought the woman looked like an Amazon. She had certainly spoken the Joketsuzoku's local dialect flawlessly.   
The woman had told her to read this letter tomorrow, and not to let Mousse or especially her great-grandmother see it until after she'd read it (and made a copy if she intended to use what she found inside).   
Shampoo had obeyed the instructions with some doubts. It sounded like the woman was suggesting she couldn't trust her own great-grandmother. Try as she might though, she couldn't think of any way this letter could harm Cologne. Perhaps it held some secret the old woman didn't want known and the woman had just wanted a day to flee the country to escape Cologne's wrath. Well, whatever it was, Shampoo would never use it to embarrass her great-grandmother. Cologne could trust her.  
Which was why it would be okay for Shampoo to read the letter. Whatever it was about, it would remain a private matter of Cologne's, unless of course she needed Shampoo's help.   
Come to think of it, Shampoo's clock read 1:04 AM, so technically it was 'tomorrow'. Obviously that was not what the scarred woman had meant, but Shampoo had the curiosity of... well, a cat.   
She opened the letter, and read.   
And what did curiosity do to the cat?  
Well, obviously the letter didn't kill her, but Shampoo certainly felt like she'd been struck. She dashed downstairs in tears to find her great-grandmother, so the old woman could tell her it wasn't true.   
On her way down, she nearly knocked over Mousse. Distressed at her obvious anxiety, Mousse quickly entered her room. Maybe the vile Saotome had tried to force himself on Shampoo after breaking into her room. He realized that was silly. Shampoo would just club him. No wait, she'd probably encourage him, he thought glumly, so that couldn't be why she was upset. Besides, the room was devoid of vile Saotomes at the moment.   
He noticed a sheet of paper on the floor and frowned. Shampoo was usually quite tidy (with the exception of leaving large amounts of rubble lying in her wake). He picked it up to set it on her dresser, and as he did so his eyes lazily glanced over the letter.   
He froze.  
  
To Xian Pu,  
I doubt you remember me. You were only about 10 or so when my sister and I had to leave the village. It wasn't as though we knew each other well, I only remember you because you were the Matriarch's protégé, but most of the older people in the village would know our names.   
I am Shin, and my older sister is Xian, of the Tiel family. When I was 20 and my sister 22, a man came to the village begging for help. He was a prominent businessman having difficulty with a local warlord who was gathering power and killing off his customers and employees. The elders decided that though the tale was sad, this was none of the clan's business. The man offered to pay whoever could kill this warlord a truly ridiculous sum of money. The elders were of course offended by the offer, and demanded that the two guards on duty (my sister and I) throw him out of the village.   
Our family was never a rich one, though of course strength is more important to an Amazon than material wealth, and my sister and I had that in spades. When we fought as a pair, we were a match even for some of the elders then. Still, life is hard for the poor and that year was particularly bad for us. Our mother was ill and there was little food in our house. These are not things we could mention to others, to be weak for any reason is a great shame to an Amazon, as you well know.  
But with that money the man had offered, we could get our mother the best medicine, and feed her well to aid her recovery. The prospect of ourselves eating quite well for the first time in months was tempting as well. On our way to the village gates, we whispered to the man that we would help him.   
Asking permission from the elders to go on a private training trip for a couple weeks, we followed the man to the warlord's land. He had wanted to hire a small army of Amazons, and had ended up with two. Killing the warlord required we use more stealth than brute force to get past his many guards, but we did not stab him in his sleep or some such disgrace. He died on his feet, fighting.   
We returned home with a doctor, fine meats and fruits from the next village, and a bag full of more money then we would make guarding the elders in 5 years. It would have been perfect. Mother's health increased, and she even returned to her training to a degree. No one suspected that we had gone against the council and helped the businessman. Unfortunately, we grew greedy with our secret wealth. We began spending more and more extravagantly, and we aroused the council's suspicions.   
It all came out eventually, the businessman told all once given the tiniest threat to his anatomy, and our family was ruined. Our mother hadn't known about the man's visit to the tribe, and hadn't wanted to question such dutiful daughters as to where all the money had come from. Now she was shamed. The council called us honorless assassins, and banished us forever. All our "ill-gotten" wealth and assets were taken from us, and our mother forced to live without even the meager income of two guards. We do not know what became of her.   
We traveled China and eventually were forced to turn to what the council had declared our 'true nature' to feed ourselves. There is very little work for uneducated Amazons. We became assassins, using the skills taught to defend out tribe to defend ourselves from starvation. Over the years, we gained a reputation, and are quite famous in our business.   
Famous enough for word to reach back to Nhu Che Zu village and the Joketsuzoku. This is the true point of this letter I write you: your great-grandmother, Cologne, Matriarch of the Joketsuzoku, who was the first to demand we be thrown out for our crimes, has hired us to assassinate the girl known as Reiko Chimidoro. You would know better than I the reason, but it appears as though my sister and I have been hired because neither you nor she are able to defeat the girl by yourselves. If this is true, than it is not the assassins who deserve to feel shame for this business.   
Still, this secret shame of hiring assassins to do her fighting for her could be forgiven, were it not for the assumptions that she makes of us. I believe my sister and I are now accomplished enough to give Cologne herself a fair challenge were we to fight her as a pair, but Cologne seems to expect us to kill her enemy from a distance with a sniper rifle. We meager assassins have far too much Amazon pride to sink to such a level, but your great-grandmother the Matriarch seems eager to, if unwilling to dirty her hands personally with such a task.   
We will not kill Reiko Chimidoro as that old bitch would have us do. We may be assassins, but we will fight and kill her in open combat like Amazons! by the time you read this, we should already have either succeeded or lost our lives in the attempt. Either way, we will not expose Cologne's crimes to the tribe.  
Though we may be Amazons at heart, we are no longer members of the tribe. If Cologne is to pay for her actions, it must fall to you to do so. I am aware that you may choose to ignore this letter and her crimes out of love for the old woman, and that is your choice. I simply give you all the information to act on if that is your wish. Remember that if you wish to confront her with this letter, you should make and hide a copy before doing so.   
You've grown up strong and beautiful Shampoo.  
May your Amazon spirit never become jaded with time.  
-Shin Tiel  
  
Mousse stared in shock at the letter in his hands. Assassins instead of the Kiss of Death? Sniper rifles from a distance? Why not just defecate on the book of Amazon law?  
His head snapped up as she heard a voice approaching.   
"Come now Shampoo, show me this ridiculous letter you found. We'll punish severely whoever made up these filthy lies."   
Mousse's eyes hardened. He slipped the letter into his robes and swiftly made a silent exit through Shampoo's window.  
The suggestion in the letter was a good one. He had a date with a photocopier.   
(And not because he mistook one for Shampoo with his glasses off ^_^)  
  
***  
  
Reiko came to a halt when she saw the two Chinese waiting for her atop a pile of crates. She recognized the big one from before, and guessed the small one was the person who had been hiding in the tree for the last several nights. There seemed to be something wrong with her eyes, but the light wasn't good enough for Reiko to pin it down at this distance.   
The big one cocked her head curiously. "Who this?"  
Reiko waved a hand dismissively. "She's just a friend who came to take my body if I lose. You won't be fighting her."   
"You no come as twins?"  
Reiko smirked. "Well, there go the last of my doubts as to who hired you. Cologne and Shampoo are the only other people aware of my curse."  
"What?" Akane cried. "I can't believe they did this!"  
"Just be quiet Akane. That doesn't matter anymore. Remember, you're only here in case I lose."   
"I ask about twin." Xian interrupted sharply.   
Reiko averted her gaze. "The curse of Luanshengniichuan is much worse than any other Jyusenkyo curse. The change is... excruciating."  
"What that word?"  
"Excruciating? Painful enough to make a strong warrior collapse. I try to avoid changing if I can. And you don't need to worry about me doing it in the middle of the fight, it always renders me unconscious, and I doubt you'd be so merciful as to wait for me to wake up."  
"We have job to do." Xian admitted.   
"I respect that. I'll treat you the same way; we fight to the death. How shall we begin?"  
Xian looked back at her sister, and the two conversed for a minute.   
"We come expect fight Reiko twins. If only one of you, you fight only one of us."  
"Very honorable of you."  
"But we still paid to kill you, so if first one of us lose, other take her place."  
"Hmm. Well, I was expecting worse. Very well, who's first?"  
Xian translated for her sister, who hopped down of the crate she was sitting on.  
"My sister would like to go first."  
Reiko nodded and stepped forward, away from Akane. "May I have the honor of your name, Miss?"  
Xian translated again.   
"Shin Tiel." The smaller girl answered with a grim smile.   
Reiko bowed to her in the Chinese style, before settling into a fighting stance.   
All Akane could think about was that everyone was very polite for people set on killing each other.   
  
***  
  
End of chapter.  
  
Yep, that's right. I'm stopping right here.   
Ain't I a bastard?  
  
Comments and Criticisms to Ron Hino at hinoron@hotmail.com  
  



	5. Chapter Five

Chimidoro no Ryuu   
Chapter 5  
  
A Ranma 1/2 Fanfiction by Hino, Ron  
  
================================================================================  
*** WARNING! FIRST DRAFT! ***  
Chapters 3-6 are in desperate need of revision, perhaps even total rewrites of the plot. I've sat on them for a while, but I'm not sure what elements I want to keep and what's a useless pile of biological waste. I've been told I let people get too far out of character, but sited examples and suggestions would be much appreciated, as well as anything else that sucks about it. Please review these chapters and then forget you ever saw them! Only Chapters 1 & 2 should be considered ready for public viewing.  
Suggestions to hinoron@hotmail.com  
Thanks much for your assistance.   
================================================================================  
  
Just a brief foreword:   
1. Ranma and friends are owned by... aw fuck it! I own them. That's right,   
their mine! Anyone from Viz Communications reading this should be contacting me   
about sending me back royalties. All you little fanfic authors will receive   
their subpoena shortly... and your little dogs too! BWAHAHAHAHA!  
(The preceding paragraph was, obviously, in jest. All hail Rumiko Takahashi-  
sama!)   
2. "Chimidoro no Ryuu" means, loosely translated "Bloody Dragon". That would   
make the full name of the School "Chimidoro no Ryuu Ryu" (ryu meaning a martial   
arts school/style). To avoid the confusion, it will always be written as the   
Chimidoro no Ryuu School, or the shorter Chimidoro school, though in the second   
case it is a reference more to Reiko's family name then the school's title.  
3. I've stopped going through and manually wordwrapping each line, (Except for   
this foreword, of course) so download this and read it with a word processor.  
  
  
We last left our emotionally damaged heroine facing off against Shin, one of the two Chinese ex-Amazons hired as assassins by Cologne. Akane and Shin's older sister Xian watch. If Shin loses, Xian will take her place, but Akane has promised Reiko not to interfere no matter what happens. Which is good, because either of these former Amazons could take her with both arms tied behind their backs.   
Shin is armed with a pair of Cat's Claws (blades attached to the forearm. Mousse wore one in the second movie, and StreetFighter's Vega wears one as well). At her hips were a pair of long daggers just in case the Cat's Claws should be ripped off her arms. By their nature, they were not a weapon that could be quickly picked up and used again if lost; they required time to be strapped into place. This was actually one of their advantages; they could not be dropped like a normal weapon if their owner was struck dizzy for a moment.   
Reiko, of course, carried no weapons. They faced off and prepared to determine who would be the victor, and who the corpse. This was a battle to the death. The two Chinese were here to assassinate Reiko, and she had made it clear that she would treat the two of them in the same way, out of respect, apparently.  
This is where this humble author had left you before, teasing and taunting about cliffhangers, and resisting the urge to say, "same bat time, same bat channel".   
Guess what? That jerk is going to do it again. ;)  
  
***  
  
While this tale does bump Ranma out of his comfortable spot as the lead character, it is not exclusively from Reiko's point of view. Events do not happen in a vacuum, and shortly after Reiko and Akane had snuck out for the night, a third figure did so as well.   
Now, anyone who knows even the slightest bit about Ranma could describe him as a machoistic, overprotective manly man (read: an ass), who would feel the need to follow the two girls to the challenge just in case they needed his help. It wasn't that he felt they couldn't handle themselves (well, Akane maybe, but Reiko definitely could) it was an instinctual need to protect that he had always had a great deal of trouble fighting down. His father's 'man among men' upbringing hadn't helped either. Many (both male and female) would argue that this type of instinct is not a bad thing, except when it acted out of turn and humiliated the woman Ranma was trying to protect.   
In any case, all that was immaterial. Akane had been with Reiko when she received the challenge letter, Ranma had not been. He didn't have a clue where the two were going at this hour, but he didn't have a problem with it. As already established, he knew Reiko could take care of herself, so Akane was safe with her wherever they went. Their being awake until now had forced him to leave a little later than he had intended, but it was easier to sneak past the wary Reiko's room (she still slept in Akane's bedroom, actually) if she was absent rather than merely asleep.   
Giving the pair enough time to get a couple blocks down the street, Ranma left the house and traveled by way of rooftop, thankful that the girls had not been heading in the direction he had wanted to go. He was late already, and making a wide detour would not have helped him any.   
Finding the building he wanted, he hopped down behind it and reached for the handle of the back door. It opened by itself, or rather, by the hand of a rather irritated young woman inside.   
"You're late!" She said accusingly.   
"Sorry." He said sheepishly. "I had to wait for everyone to fall asleep."  
"Yeah, me included." She said with a yawn. "I think we're going to have to cut these late night visits down to once or twice a week. I don't know about you, but I'm really falling behind on sleep. Actually, twice on the weekend might work out ok." She smiled. "Now if only we could find a way for you to spend the whole weekend with me, instead of just late-night visits."   
Ranma followed her inside, mirroring her slightly naughty grin. "Actually, I've thought about that, or something like it. If I could go on a training trip, I'd have an excuse not to be at the Dojo regularly for at least a week. Unfortunately, I usually go on things like that with Pop, so I'd have to figure out a way to get him to stay out of it. Plus, you'd have to keep going to school or someone would suspect something was up. Remember when you came with us when I had that Ultimate Weakness Moxibustion thing? Akane was only a couple days behind."  
"Yeah." Ukyou sighed. Putting an arm around his waist as they walked casually into the restaurant proper. "Well, keep thinking about ways to lose that stupid panda, and I'll be here to help. Run your plans by me before you try them out, okay? Two heads are better then one."  
"Right." They sat down on a pair of stools at the counter.   
"You know, I bet if I waited two days into the week, I could pretend to be sick and no one would suspect anything. A couple of days of coughing and no one would suspect that I was going home to be with you for a few days. I could even close the restaurant down for illness."  
"Wouldn't you lose business that way?"  
"Oh, don't worry about it. The restaurant does quite well the rest of the year you know. I can afford to shut down for a few days. Heck, I'm not even open full time as it is, seeing how I have to go to school and all."   
"Okay, so it's just Pop I need to deal with."  
"_We_ will think of something Ranchan." She took both his hands in hers. "Ranchan, can I ask you something?"  
"Of course, Ucchan."  
Ukyou looked shyly down at their hands, rubbing her thumbs across his knuckles. "Why'd you choose me, or have you?"  
"What do you mean, 'have I'? You think I visit Shampoo, or that lunatic Kodachi some nights?"   
"No..." Ukyou said, but her expression told him she'd at least considered the possibility. More to the point, Akane was easy to visit, being just down the hall from his bedroom.  
"Hmph! Well, let me ask you another question. If I was that kind of guy, would I deserve your love?"  
"Ranchan I didn't mean-"  
"Yes you did."  
She leaned forward and hugged him around the waist. "I'm sorry! I just get so scared. Everybody wants you, and I worry that someone else might be trying hard enough to get you, if I'm not careful!"   
Ranma stroked her head, mentally kicking himself. He'd meant to tease her a bit about her jealousy, but finding how deep her fears ran was a bit shocking.   
"Ucchan, don't cry! Listen, I _have_ chosen you. I don't want you to ever be afraid that I haven't. That's not something you ever need to worry about again."  
"sniff Really?"  
"Really. So stop crying. Hmm, how about I answer your question. Will that convince you?"  
"What question?"  
"About how I decided?"  
Ukyou wiped a last tear out of her eye and sat in is lap, hugging him tightly. "I don't doubt you any more, but could I hear anyway?"  
(I bet the honorable readers would like to know as well.)  
"Sure." Ranma smiled, patting her back. "I thought about all the people that get hurt, both emotionally and physically, by all this fiancée fighting garbage. I knew none of you were likely to drop out of the running, and it was just going to get more and more out of control. So two weeks ago, I sat myself down in the dojo and meditated for an entire night. I had to sort out my own feelings. I thought about how I felt when I was with each one of my fiancées. First was the most obvious, the one I was living with.   
"When I'm around Akane, I'm always either angry or uncomfortable, not to mention terrified when she cooks." He looked down to see if Ukyou would be cheered up a bit by his joke. She smiled up at him, a little. He continued. "The rest of the time I'm mostly indifferent to her, and the same is true for her with me. Every time I try to be nice it backfires. Deep down I think we don't have any real dislike for each other. Mostly it's all misunderstandings and insensitivity, but why on Earth would anyone think that would change if we got married? I don't want to live the rest of my life angry, or being pounded on because she is.  
"Now the second most obvious was Shampoo. I'm not going to lie and say there's no attraction there. She's very beautiful, extremely sexy, and to my great misfortune, she knows how to use it too." Ukyou buried her face in his chest, not wanting him to see how much she was hurt by his words. "When I'm around her, I'm usually feeling awkward, embarrassed, or angry at her for making me feel that way. Like I said, she knows how to use her best features, but she uses them _way_ too much for me to ever get comfortable around her. I also get the sense that she's trying to act like she's the perfect housewife in order to please me. I mean, isn't the Joketsuzoku a female dominant society? Why would she be willing to bow and scrape to me so blatantly? I don't think that's how it would be if I married her. Once the ring goes on, she'd drag me back to Nhu Che Zhu and that would be the end of her desire to go all out to please me. Not that I _want_ an anything-you-want-dear kind of girl, but she's just lying to me in order to get me to marry her. If she even wanted a chance, she'd have to show me the real her.  
"Thirdly, we have Kodachi. She scares me. End of story.  
"Finally, we come to Ucchan." He said, giving her a playful squeeze around her shoulders. Ukyou pressed her face even tighter into his chest. Why was she last? Why was she the least likely to become his bride in his eyes? Even Kodachi came ahead of her.   
"Ucchan was my childhood friend, and I made her the same when I met her again. She's my very best friend. Unfortunately, I realized that I was _only_ thinking of her as such. I wasn't even considering her seriously as part of the running. I knew how she felt, and it wasn't fair to her for me to feel that way. I owed it to my best friend to at least consider her seriously. So I thought about how I feel when I'm with Ucchan. I'm comfortable, relaxed. I can talk to Ucchan about anything in the world, and I'll know she'll listen. She might smack me upside the head with a giant utensil, but only if I really deserve it (as opposed to Akane, who will smack me because the temperature outside is an even number). If I married Ucchan, emotionally, not a whole lot would change. I'd still be comfortable around her, able to talk to her about anything, and she'd still lay one on me if I deserve it." Ranma said with a chuckle. "I realized I loved Ucchan, and not just as a friend like I'd thought."  
Ukyou had lifted her head slowly as his words sank in. He could see the tracks of the tears that she had shed silently as he spoke. He took her face in his hands.  
"Then I realized a few other things I'd never thought about before. Namely, that my best friend is beautiful," he kissed away a tear under her left eye, "and sexy," under her right eye, "and the idea of being apart from her makes my stomach twist into knots." He kissed her gently on the lips. "I can't bear it." He kissed her again and she kissed back, the kiss waxing long and passionate.   
"You won't ever have to." She promised, when they broke apart. "I can't live without you either."  
"I'm sorry it took me so long to sort out my own head."  
"It was worth the wait." She smiled. "Promise me you'll never leave?"  
"Er... what about the Tendos? If I'm not there in the morning-"  
"I meant leave completely, silly. You're allowed to be out of my sight for short periods."   
"Oh good. Though I'd like to work on making it so that I don't have to be out of your sight for longer than a bathroom break."  
"I could learn to love that."  
They kissed again. When they finished, Ukyou just leaned her head on his chest and held him for a while enjoying the feel of his warm, strong arms around her.   
Ranma felt like discussing something else. "Say, Ucchan? I'm getting a little hungry." He grinned.  
Ukyou sighed. She really didn't feel like firing up the grill at this time of night. Everything was packed up and turned off.   
"I guess you wouldn't be Ranma if you didn't want to eat constantly." She sighed, getting off his lap. "What do you want, sugar?"  
"I'll have one Deluxe Okonomiyaki Chef." Ranma said, grinning even wider.  
"Right. One deluxe..." she trailed off as his last word sank in. By the time he had turned her around her grin was as wide as his. He kissed her deeply as he pressed her against his body.   
"And how would you like it served sir?" She teased. He scooped her up and laid her down on the counter, her left shoulder and hip resting on the blackened steel of the cooking surface.  
"Hot," he said, "off the grill."   
She giggled and pulled him in for another kiss as he began untying the belt from her Okonomiyaki jacket, unfolding the two halves and exposing her wrapped chest. He stroked them gently through the bindings.   
"You know, ever since I've seen these things in detail a week ago, I've been wondering why you still bind your chest. Almost everyone knows you're really a girl now."  
"Just habit I guess. Why?" She asked as she loosened the ties on his Chinese shirt, running her hands over the lean muscles of his tightly chiseled chest.  
"Well, now that I've seen them in their full glory, I know for a fact that they're far too beautiful to be kept hidden."  
She smiled up at him, reaching behind her for one of the kitchen knifes she kept near the counter. She rarely used them, having personally sharpened all her mini-spatulas to the point where you could shave with them.   
"Then you've just signed the death warrant on these bandages."   
He took the knife from her. "Death by the blade?"  
"Do your duty, executioner.   
"It's a perverted job, but somebody's got to do it." He said with a strait face.   
She giggled. "You know perfectly well you're the only one who I'd let do this job. It's not without it's hazards." She said, holding her breath as he slipped the razor shape blade down her cleavage. He had the edge pointed up of course, but the point was right against her skin.   
He paused and looked seriously into her eyes. "The trust means a lot." He said as he pulled upwards, carefully ripping the cloth without driving the point into her skin.   
She smiled up at him. "I don't think I'd have cared as much if anyone else told me to stop binding my chest either." She stopped talking as he went past her breasts (now almost entirely exposed) to cut the last half of the tape around her upper abdomen. She sucked in her stomach.   
"No, push out."  
"What?"  
"Push your stomach out. It's a lot easier to avoid stabbing you if you're convex as opposed to concave."  
"Oh." She said and pushed her stomach out, feeling rather embarrassed about looking fat. She quickly returned it to its normal flat washboard look once he cut the bandages away.   
"Mmm. Much better." Ranma sighed as he gently rubbed her large mounds. He had found out earlier that her breasts were a bit tender just after she untied them, until the circulation returned to normal. He was quite willing to softly massage them better.   
"If you like, I'll stop dressing like a boy too." She said.   
Ranma cocked his head as he thought about that. "I don't think that's the same thing as binding your breasts." He said. "Dressing like a boy and disguising yourself as a boy are two different things. One's a fashion statement, the other's a deception, know what I mean?"  
"I guess."  
"I think you should wear whatever you're most comfortable in, and don't worry what other people think. You're a girl (a beautiful girl) and you don't have to prove it to anyone. You just shouldn't have to hide it either, is all I'm saying."  
Ukyou hugged him tightly. "Thank you so much! I wonder a lot if I'm feminine enough for you."  
"Oh you are!" Ranma grinned, massaging a little more deeply into Ukyou's chest, resulting in appreciative moans from her. "Everyone seems to think that I'm looking for a girl who's 100% feminine, the traditional Japanese housewife. If that's the type I loved, I'd be considering marrying Kasumi."  
"So what type do you love?"  
Ranma leaned forward, planting a kiss on her neck with each sentence, trailing slowly down to her chest.  
"Ucchan's the type I love! I love her strengths [kiss]. I love her faults [kiss]. I love insecurities [kiss]. I love her pride [kiss]. I love her dark, tiny little secrets that I know she could never tell anyone but me [kiss][kiss]. I love that I can tell her mine."   
"Ranma..."   
"What can I say? You're the girl I love."   
She wrapped her arms around his neck. "Ranma, tonight, would you like to make me the _woman_ you love?"  
He blinked at her. "Ucchan, are you sure? I don't want you to think this is something you have to do. I wouldn't leave if you said no. I wouldn't even be upset."  
"I know you wouldn't, that's why I offered." She smiled.  
"You're not scared? You're sure you wouldn't regret this?"  
"I am a little nervous, but I know that if I don't do this, I _will_ regret it."  
Ranma swallowed. "Alright then."  
"Ranma, are _you_ nervous?"  
"Enough to qualify as 'scared'."  
"Really? You've never done this before?"  
"With who? Think about it. Akane would bash me into the dirt if I even tried to kiss her. Shampoo comes on way too strong for me, and she'd probably drag me off to China the minute we finished. Kodachi... I'd be worried about getting my equipment back."  
"Hey, you never said anything about Reiko." Ukyou realized.   
"Oh her? She was never _in_ the running. Until her family problems are solved, she needs to be engaged to me, remember? That's all there is to it."  
"I remember, but she is beautiful."  
"I guess so, but in her case, I KNOW I wouldn't get my equipment back. She said so on the first day."  
Ukyou giggled. "Good. I kinda like her. Sorry for assuming this wasn't your first time too, but I guess I just figured that since you were so good with your hands, you'd already done it before."  
"Sometimes being cursed to turn into a girl has its advantages."  
"You masturbated as a girl?"  
"A few times. Don't you?" The question brought a bright red colour to her cheeks.  
"Do I? Well, actually, um, no I don't."  
"Huh? Nabiki told me all girls do."  
Ukyou blinked. "Well she's wrong, or lying. How did you get into that kind of conversation anyway?"  
"I'm pretty sure she was just trying to get pictures of when I did. I made sure to avoid her whenever I tried it though. Are you sure girls don't do that? Having done it myself, I can't see any reason why they wouldn't." Ukyou saw he seemed really embarrassed by it, now that it wasn't 'normal'.   
"I'm sure some girls do. I've just never tried it myself. I guess I don't really know whether most girls do or not. I'm not exactly in that many social circles, most girls thinking I'm a guy and all that. So... what's it like?"  
"Huh? Oh. Well, it's similar to when you're a guy, but not as localized. Sort of like all over your body."  
"And how would I know what it feels like for a guy?" Ukyou growled playfully, punching him in the arm.   
"Ow. Oh yeah. Um, well... actually it's really hard to describe. Sort of like a fire spreading through you, but it doesn't burn. It's just this wonderful, pleasantly warm sensation."  
"I feel a little like that when you touch my breasts."   
"Ah, thought so. Well, it gets better. Much better, until at one point you can't even think."   
"Well then," Ukyou said with a cat-like grin (which made Ranma a bit nervous for reasons that had nothing to do with the Neko-ken), "I think it's about time you showed me _exactly_ what it feels like. Not here though, in my bedroom."  
Ranma grinned and scooped her up in his arms. "I guess I'll take my Deluxe Okonokiyaki Chef to go then."   
Ukyou giggled as he dashed upstairs, hugging his neck tightly.   
  
(And now, lest my honorable readers think I'm growing sappy, back to violence and bloodshed.)  
(And no, you do _not_ get to peak in the window while Ranma and Ukyou play Hide the Spatula. I think they deserve some privacy.)  
  
***  
  
Reiko let Shin make the first attack, weaving back a little too slow, and getting three deep cuts in her upper arm for her trouble. Shin had prepared a more powerful, yet slower follow-up attack, but was taken by surprise when Reiko instantly countered with a solid reverse punch to the solar plexus.   
What the hell was that? Shin wondered as she backed off to recover. She acted like I didn't even hit her. She should have at least winced.   
Reiko backed off for a moment as well, focusing her ki around her hands, making them hard as steel. It wasn't nearly as effective as her Ryuunotsume (See Ch. 1) and was in fact a fairly common technique of many styles (even the author can pull it off, to a slightly lesser degree ^_^). Still, it would be enough to break those Cat's Claws off and remove the slightly smaller girl's reach advantage. Now that she had an idea of her opponent's speed, Reiko needed every advantage she could get.   
As Shin was preparing to renew her attack, Reiko charged. A flurry of fast blows were traded back and forth, until Reiko saw her opening and destroyed the left-hand Cat's Claw with a chop of her steel-like hand.   
Shin's eyes flicked to the broken weapon ever so briefly, and thus was caught by Reiko's palm heel to the chin. She was knocked rolling. When she stood back up, she ripped the remains of the Cat's Claw from her arm and reentered the fray.  
Martial arts at a certain level is more like chess than anything else. When your arms and legs are moving faster than you can effectively keep track of, it becomes a game of strategy; how many moves can you plan ahead? How many of your opponents moves can you predict and work their counters into your combination? Simply striking and reacting won't get you far in a fight at this level.   
Shin was planing her attacks a stunning 9 moves ahead. A difficult accomplishment for any fighter of any style.  
Reiko was doing 11.   
The other Cat's Claw followed the first a minute later. Shin stood with her back to a wall, hands up in a guard. The daggers were at her hips, but reaching for them meant dropping at least one hand, something Reiko had made clear would be a bad idea. On the other hand, Reiko was standing close enough that a committed strike now could be blocked and countered easily from Shin's present guard. Frankly, both were standing a little closer than either was comfortable with.  
They were at a stalemate. The first one who moved risked taking a serious (perhaps final) hit. They stood staring at each other, refusing to so much as blink.   
Akane watched intently. She was a little less tense now that Reiko had gained the advantage. She jumped suddenly when she realized Xian was standing beside her.   
"You friend of Reiko?"  
"Um... yes."  
Xian did not look at her, but watched the fight intently. Akane saw a great deal of worry in her eyes.   
"I think Reiko win. She say this fight to death. Is true, or just talk?"  
Akane hadn't actually thought about it much. Everybody had been throwing the word death around so much at the beginning, so casually.  
After a moment, Akane answered. "Reiko's school normally treats all challenge matches as fights to the death. She's had to kill many times before. Recently she swore an oath that she wouldn't kill anyone unless her own life was in danger. She was quite happy to have that oath standing over her, but since you and your sister are here to kill her..."  
"Then kill assassins no break oath."  
"I'm afraid not. I'm really not sure what she'll do. She doesn't really enjoy killing, but she already said this would be a fight to the death."  
Xian closed her eyes tightly, as though trying not to cry. "Shin is little sister. Only family left. I no can watch her die. If Reiko move for deathblow, I take Reiko friend hostage, make her stop. Xian promise no hurt Reiko friend for real, only stop Shin from dying. Is okay?"   
Akane looked at the big woman. She could understand the loyalty between sisters. "A-All right. If you promise not to hurt me. I don't really want to watch her kill anyone either."  
"Xian give word as Ama- as woman of honor."  
Akane nodded.   
Shin's patience was apparently not as long as Reiko's; she avoided the obvious move for her weapons and attacked barehanded.   
It was a mistake.   
The added range her weapons gave her was the only thing that had saved Shin this long. Once Shin was fully within Reiko's reach, the fight was over.   
Shin found herself being held against the wall, Reiko with one hand on her shoulder, the other drawn back. Shin might have tried to counter this final strike, had not both her arms and one leg been broken at the knee and elbow joints.   
"Stop fight now!" Xian roared.   
Reiko turned her head, finding the Xian had a knife to Akane's throat. The larger ex-Amazon pulled up on the blade, forcing Akane to stand on her toes to live.   
"Let Shin go. Fight over. Shin lose. No need to kill."  
Reiko's expression (or lack thereof) did not change in the slightest. "This was to be a fight to the death, as all of us agreed. You can't back out now. You wouldn't have done the same if I had asked."   
"I kill her!" Xian screamed. "I kill your friend!"  
Reiko responded by lashing forward with her hand. She had been focusing her ki again, but this time around a single finger. This steel-like finger sank completely into Shin's heart and was followed by a small fountain of blood when it was removed.   
Reiko stepped back from the dying girl as Xian ran forward with a scream, tossing Akane aside. Reiko walked around until she stood between Xian and Akane, in case the assassin changed her mind. She didn't have to hurry; Xian and Shin still had at least 30 seconds to share last words. She respected that time they had together and stood well out of earshot, not that she understood Mandarin.   
Xian held Shin to her and sobbed. Her little sister smiled and whispered something to her.   
Akane turned to Reiko who had turned her back to the private moment.   
"Why did you kill her?"  
"Because she would have killed me."  
"But I was a hostage, I could have been killed." Akane almost pleaded. Does my life mean that little to you? she wondered, but could not bring herself to ask.  
Reiko looked her in the eyes, her unfeeling expression never softening. "She wouldn't kill you."  
"She's an assassin!"  
"And she still wasn't going to kill you."  
"How could you know that?"  
"Because," Reiko's eyes narrowed, "you weren't scared at all."  
"Huh?"  
"That's how I could tell that the two of you had planned it ahead of time."   
Akane turned away guiltily. "You make it sound like we conspired against you."  
"And you didn't?" Reiko asked in that flat, toneless voice.   
Akane shook her head. "It was more like... she warned me ahead of time of what she planned to do."  
"Still, you didn't try to warn me."  
"Warn you of what? If she succeeded in fooling you, all that would have happened was that her sister would be alive. You crippled her, she wasn't a threat anymore."  
Reiko let out a sigh. "Let me share with you a little life lesson, Akane. An assassin hired to kill you is no longer a threat when he or she is dead. Anything less means that they'll try to kill you again. If I let either of them walk away tonight, their honor demands that they keep trying until they kill me."  
"So, you beat her before, couldn't you have done it again?"  
"Exactly. Which is why next time, it wouldn't have been a challenge letter. It would have been a bullet from a long-range sniper rifle. You and I would be sitting down to eat lunch in the schoolyard and my head would suddenly explode, right before your eyes."  
Akane had nothing to say to that.   
Reiko glanced back at the Chinese. "I still have to take care of Xian. I'm pretty confidant I can handle her without a problem. She doesn't look as fast as her sister, plus she's upset over Shin's death. You don't have to watch if you don't want to. You can wait for me at home if you prefer."   
Akane shook her head. "I'll stay."  
"If you're sure..."  
Akane nodded. She certainly didn't _look_ sure.  
"Okay. I'll try to keep this quick." Reiko said, turning back to her would-be assassins. By her estimate, Shin should have been gone for several seconds now, which meant Xian would be putting her down shortly.   
Xian laid Shin gently to the ground, placing her arms folded across her stomach, and kissing her on the forehead. Then she rose and turned.   
"I suppose you have three reasons to kill me now." Reiko mused. "Duty, revenge, and of course, money."  
"Money mean nothing now! Only important before to keep food in stomach. Xian will throw money back in Cologne's face, then spit on honorless Matriarch!" Xian snarled, sliding her preferred weapon, a set of brass knuckles fitted with circular blades, onto her hand.   
Reiko smiled. "I'm afraid I can't leave you alive, but I will spit in the old woman's face for you, and tell her who it's from."  
"Xian thank you, but not going to lose." She said sharply, taking a fighting stance.   
"Well, so long as somebody spits on the old crone." Reiko smirked. "If it means anything," she said, becoming serious and taking a side stance, "I wish I hadn't had to kill your sister..."  
Xian charged with a battle cry filled with pain. Reiko sidestepped and spun. Both halted abruptly, facing opposite directions.   
Xian, facing Akane (whose eyes were very wide), looked down slowly at the small tip of the blade protruding from her chest. Reiko released her grip on Shin's dagger, which she had hidden until now, and allowed Xian to fall forward.   
"Or you." Reiko finished, not turning around. She took a deep sigh, as she looked up at the stars. Eventually, she turned to see Xian still moving, if barely.   
"I'm sorry, I should have made sure you were finished." Reiko said, pulling the dagger free and turning Xian over. "Go be with your sister now." Reiko said softly, stroking a stray lock of Xian's hair back into place tenderly. With the dagger gone, blood poured rapidly from the hole through her body. In only seconds, Xian closed her eyes and exhaled for the last time.   
Akane had come to stand behind her friend.  
Reiko squatted there by Xian's body for a while, then sighed again and moved to take the fallen woman by her shoulders, dragging her a few feet before wincing at the pain the deep cuts in her arm brought her. She no longer had adrenaline to protect her from the sensation.   
"Akane, could you help me with this?"  
Somewhat reluctantly, Akane took Xian's feet and lifted. "Where are we taking her?"  
"To the water." Reiko answered. "They picked the docks for a reason. They didn't know I'd be bringing a friend to take my corpse home."   
"Shouldn't they get some kind of service or something?"   
Reiko looked at her a moment. "We'll do what we can." She said.   
They laid the heavy woman on the edge of the dock, then did the same with Shin. All the weapons were wiped of fingerprints and then tossed into the bay, save one.  
Reiko stood beside Akane for a few minutes, trying to think of what to say.   
"Tonight, we bid farewell to Xian and Shin of the Tiel family. I did not know them long, but I know that they are more honorable Amazons than the Matriarch of their former tribe. It's kind of ironic: if we had met under different circumstances, we might have been friends."   
Reiko turned to Akane. "You want to say anything?"  
Akane shook her head. "I knew even less of them than you did. I think that's good enough anyway."  
Reiko nodded. "Right. Rest in peace, you two. I hope you're more fortunate in your next life." She said as she rolled Xian then Shin over the edge.   
They stood for a moment in respectful silence. Then Reiko turned. "Let's go home, Akane." She said tiredly.   
  
***  
  
Reiko didn't come inside the house when they arrived home.   
"Don't you want to go to bed?" Akane asked. "It's nearly 3:00 AM."  
Reiko shook her head. "I need to do some thinking. You go ahead."   
Akane nodded and opened the door.   
"Akane?"  
She stopped and turned to her friend, who was looking out at the garden.   
"You asked me earlier what it felt like to kill a person. It's not a nice feeling. I have killed when I had to; either because my father forced me to or when my continued survival depended on it, like tonight, but I've never once enjoyed it."  
Akane didn't say anything for a minute, then "I read once that that's the difference between a killer and a monster." Then she went inside and to bed.  
Reiko sighed and then jumped to the roof, looking up at the ever-watching stars.   
"But what if I don't feel anything when I kill? What am I then?"  
  
Reiko was still pondering hours later, shortly before dawn, when she saw a figure hopping along the rooftops towards her. The figure dropped down to the street in front of the Tendo house, and the streetlights revealed his face to her.  
"Ranma?"  
Ranma was nearly home, having avoided jumping directly to the Tendo roof so as not to wake anyone with his footfalls. He had just closed the gate behind him when Reiko jumped to the ground in front of him, nearly startling him into screaming.   
"Hey Ranma, what are you doing out so late?" She looked him over. His hair was out of place, and his clothes very wrinkled. "Geez, you look like the morning after."  
Ranma made a choking noise. "M-morning after w-what?" He stammered.   
Reiko frowned. She reached out and grabbed him by the shirt, pulling him close, and sniffing him.   
"W-what are you doing? H-HEY!" He nearly yelled as Reiko grabbed his waistband and sniffed again. She released him with an amused frown.   
"Well, I guess it IS the morning after. Does Akane know about this?"  
"K-know about what?"  
Reiko raised a who-do-you-think-you're-trying-to-fool eyebrow. "Ranma, unless you came in your pants in both of your forms tonight, you were out having sex with someone."  
"How can you tell that?"  
"You smell like pussy, stupid! Now does Akane know?"  
"Well, of course not."  
"Well, she will if you get within a metre of her."  
"You're not going to tell her?" Ranma asked, half pleading.   
Reiko cocked her head, thinking about that. "Well, she is my friend, but then so are you I suppose. More than that though, this is really none of my business."  
"Thanks, Reiko. You're a good friend."  
Reiko rolled her eyes. "I don't know if I'd go that far. Can I at least ask who's the lucky girl?" She grinned wickedly, "Though in your personal case, I suppose it could have been a guy."  
"HEY!"  
"Shhh!"  
"Oops. That ain't funny."   
"Sorry, couldn't resist. So who?"  
"Um... Ucchan."  
"The cross-dressing okonomiaki chef?"  
"She's not a cross-dress- well, I guess technically she is." Ranma mumbled.   
"I didn't mean it that way. Actually, she's kinda nice. Not a bad match if you ask me."   
"Um, thanks."   
"I really think you should tell Akane soon though. It would be really bad if it had been her that smelled the sex on you."  
"Yeah I guess you're right."   
"Ranma," Reiko frowned, sensing his reluctance, "Akane is probably the best friend I have now. Keeping a secret from her is not something I want to do for very long, do you understand? Tell her soon!"  
"Alright, I promise."  
Reiko nodded. "Good. Now to deal with that smell." She grabbed his shirt again and rolled backwards with her foot in his chest, sending him flying into the pond.   
Between his surprised yell and the huge splash, it was perhaps not surprising when Akane poked her head out the window.   
"Ranma! What are you doing in there?"  
"Uh..."  
Reiko hopped up to the roof, hanging by the rafters near her window. "He said something unflattering about my being out all night. I thought throwing him in would be more fun than explaining how I spent most of the night on the roof stargazing."  
Akane scowled. "I should've known. I hope you catch cold out there!" She yelled at Ranma before letting Reiko in and closing the window. "He's such a jerk!"  
"True, but sometimes his being a jerk can be rather convenient." Reiko mused.  
"Huh? What are you talking about?"  
"Never mind. I'm just tired. It's Sunday, so we can sleep in. Let's get some rest."  
"Oh. Okay."  
  
***  
  
Shampoo locked the door at the end of a fairly slow Monday night and turned off the front light. She sat down at a table by herself.  
She wondered what she should do. The letter from Shin Tiel had vanished, but she had read it. If she wanted to protect her great-grandmother, the letter would have to be found and destroyed.  
Did she?  
If what he letter said was true, then her duty as a member of the Joketsuzoku tribe, as a child of Nhu Che Zhu village, was to report her great-grandmother's crimes to the council, Matriarch or no. If it were true.  
What if it was?  
Could Shampoo turn on her own beloved mentor like that? On family like that? And mightn't that not be a little hypocritical? Shampoo was not exactly obeying the law to the letter either. She had failed to kill the female outsider who defeated her (excusable, since Ranma wasn't really a female). She had failed to marry the male outsider who had defeated her (so far). She had not administered the Kiss of Death to Reiko Chimidoro (all her survival instincts plus her great-grandmother, the Matriarch, said that was a bad idea).  
Of course all those were failures, not crimes. She had done her best on all three occasions, and simply not succeeded for one reason or another. What the Matriarch of the Joketsuzoku was doing was a little different. She was disobeying the spirit of the law as well as the letter of it. Amazon's should face their opponents head-on, with honour, not pay others to do their fighting for them. That was the way of cowards.   
What if it was true?  
What had happened this morning certainly indicated that it was.  
  
Reiko had entered the Nekohanten at noon, probably on her school lunch break. She had marched in and demanded to see Cologne, who hopped out from the kitchen, frowning at the girl's rudeness. Shampoo had watched warily, as she stood near a table she had just served to.   
Reiko tossed something to the ground at Cologne's feet (well, the base of her walking stick, anyway). Shampoo saw it was a broken Cat's Claw.   
"Xian and Shin send their regards." Reiko growled.   
Cologne's back was to Shampoo, so she couldn't see the old woman's face, but the Matriarch slipped an inch down her staff in shock.   
"Xian also wanted to give you something, for insulting their honour and thinking them to be cowards like yourself." Reiko said. Shampoo drew in a sharp breath. NO ONE called the Matriarch a coward! The girl dropped her serving tray in horror as Reiko actually spit right in Cologne's face.   
"I'm disappointed in you, old woman. I was under the impression that you were the Matriarch of the Amazons; an example of their honour to all others, both within and without the tribe. Two real Amazon's are no longer in your employ, or anyone else's for that matter." Reiko snapped, being careful not to say outright that she had killed them. With that, she turned on her heel and left the restaurant, and all its stunned occupants.  
Cologne reached up slowly to wipe the spittle from her cheek.   
"[That arrogant child is going to die a long, lingering death!]"  
  
Yes, that little incident put credence to the idea that the old woman had hired assassins; Shampoo remembered the names from the letter. Still, it could all be an elaborate trick by Reiko, except that the letter had been written in Chinese. Shampoo was quite sure that Reiko didn't speak a word of her native tongue, so if that were true than she would have needed help from someone Chinese.   
Mousse was missing.   
He'd gone missing yesterday, the same day the letter arrived. In fact, she vaguely remembered batting him aside in the hallway as she ran to tell her great-grandmother about the letter.  
The letter which was gone when she and Cologne returned.  
She hadn't seen Mousse since then.   
Well, it was pretty clear who had the letter now. Yes, that made more sense then him writing it. The letter had definitely been done in a feminine hand. So what would he do with it now? He had no love for her great-grandmother. Would he attempt to expose the Matriarch?   
  
'Remember that if you wish to confront her with this letter, you should make and hide a copy before doing so.'  
  
Yes, Mousse would have almost certainly taken that part of the letter to heart. He probably went to an all-night copy place right away. What would he do next?  
Mail copies to friends for safekeeping? That was reasonable.  
Mail a copy home, to the council? That was almost treason. Furthermore, it might not be accepted as testimony coming from a mere male like him. But it could be, and it would at least arouse suspicions. Cologne would be investigated, perhaps even overthrown as Matriarch.  
And now the loaded questions:  
Was that what Shampoo wanted?  
Was that what her great-grandmother deserved?  
These were questions she had to figure out soon, before Mousse returned to confront Cologne.   
  
***  
  
"The beach?" Reiko blinked.   
"Yeah! It's hot enough now, and we've got a long weekend." Akane said cheerfully. "The whole family's going. You'll come with us, won't you?"   
Reiko hesitated slightly, but Akane's eager smile wasn't easy to refuse.   
"Of course." She said with a sincere smile. If Akane wanted her to come, she would bear any awkwardness that might come her way.  
  
The awkwardness Reiko was expecting came around 11:00.   
The group had arrived at 8:00, Ranma-chan going off to play in the surf, Soun and a large panda playing shogi (what else!), Kasumi making sure everyone had ice tea if they wanted it, and Akane, Nabiki, and Reiko deciding to suntan.   
Early on, Nabiki had been debating whether or not to try and convince Reiko to start an amateur modeling career. She had a figure at least on par with Ranma-chan's, if not better, especially in the bikini she was wearing. Nabiki would act as her agent of course (professional modeling was unacceptable, as the agents of professional models only got a 10% cut. Nabiki wanted to see if she could get Reiko to go with 50%). However, as Reiko's skin began to brown as the morning wore on, the white lines of her many scars stood out visibly even through Nabiki's sunglasses. Sadly, Reiko was too marked up to have any success in the superficial business of modeling. Selling racy snapshots wouldn't bring in enough to warrant the risk to Nabiki's health either. Nabiki secretly hated attitudes like that: beauty through perfection. Did a beautiful girl suddenly become ugly because of one or two minor blemishes in the wrong places? Conversely, the obsession with superficial looks was a weakness that Nabiki frequently abused to earn/extort money. Case in point: Kunou and his photos of Akane and the Pig-tailed-girl. However, even though she'd make use of the attitude for her personal profit, she still hated it.   
Which might have been why she did something today that she rarely did: help someone for free.   
"EWW! Look at that girl!"  
"Oh gross! Scars all over!"  
The two girls who had set up a blanket near the Tendo group had not been quiet enough that Reiko could of missed their words, unless she was sleeping. She was lying on her back with an arm over her eyes to block the sun.   
But she was not sleeping. Nabiki saw the muscle in her face twitch. That was the only sign Reiko gave.   
"Can you imagine having marks like that... everywhere like that?"  
"Why doesn't she wear a one-piece or something?"  
"Geez, in her case she'd have to wear a whole wetsuit to cover them. Her arms and legs are sliced up too."  
"She must be one of those S&M sickos."   
"EWW!"  
Both of them giggled.   
Akane was less inclined to let things be. At first, she had merely watched Reiko's reaction, waiting to see if she would have to pry the scarred girl's hands from one of the bitches' throats. When Reiko did nothing however, and the heartless bitches continued to make fun of her, Akane decided Reiko could be the one to do the prying. No one made fun of her friends that way! Reiko was beautiful! How dare they laugh and say otherwise!  
It was Nabiki's hand that caught her shoulder when Akane started to get up, just as Reiko was whispering for her to let them be. The middle Tendo leaned in and whispered.   
"Calm down Akane. There's much better ways to get revenge than just pounding the crap out of them. More satisfying ways."  
Reiko looked up at them from under her arm, intrigued.  
Akane reluctantly sat back down. "Fine. How much?"  
Nabiki pursed her lips in thought. "In this case, free."  
"Really?"  
"Not that I'm going to be making a habit of this, you understand."  
"Naturally."  
"Okay. First, go get Ranma in out of the water and change her to a him. Then..."  
  
The two girls, who had become somewhat quieter upon realization that some of the sunbathing group were awake, looked up as three very cute guys walked up the beach.   
"Oh wow, check it out!"  
"Isn't that guy Mikado Sanzenin? The figure skater?"  
"He's so dreamy!"  
"And look at the bods on the other two!"   
"They're cute too."  
"Hell, all three are hot!"  
"SHH! Here they come! Be quiet and look sexy!"  
The three boys in question walked right by the pair desperately trying to subtly catch their attention, and stopped just beyond them to stare at the Tendo group of sunbathers, who were still short Akane.   
"Whoa, check out that chick!" Ranma cried.  
"Yeah, she's got more scars than any of us." Ryouga agreed.  
"That's so cool. I've got to hear the story behind that big one across her stomach."  
"I must admit, in all my years of martial arts paired figure skating, I've taken my share of skate blades into the skin, but I can't compete with that one, or the one on her shoulder either."  
"Think she'd want to swap scar stories?" Ranma asked.   
"Let's hope so." Ryouga said bashfully.   
"I wonder if she'll let me kiss them better?" Mikado pondered aloud.   
"Ah, I think they've healed already." Ranma deadpanned.  
"Think she'll let me anyway?"  
"I doubt it." Ryouga muttered.   
"Well, in any case, why are we still standing here?" Mikado asked.  
"Good point. Let's go talk to her." Ranma agreed.   
The two girls watched in shock as three very cute guys walked over and sat down in the sand, rousing Reiko and striking up conversation. Reiko responded with a smile and in a few minutes, the boys were proudly pointing out their own scars and telling the wildly embellished tales of their grueling martial arts training that went with each minor wound.   
One miffed and confused girl turned to he other. "My mother's kitchen knives are pretty sharp."  
"How long do you think it'll take us to heal so we're ready for the beach again?"  
"I dunno. At least a week."   
"Geez! What we go through to catch a man!"  
The pair continued to grumble as they gathered up their beach stuff and went home, obviously having no chance until their own bodies were covered in interesting stories.   
  
Akane came back and sat beside Nabiki, who was watching the 'scar wars' story telling contest with amusement.   
"The bitches left. This was a great idea Nabiki. They looked miserable."  
"Yup. Where'd you find Ryouga by the way?"  
"He was just walking around the beach asking for directions to the dojo. I stopped him and asked him to help out. Once I told him how mean those other girls were being, he volunteered immediately."  
"Hmph. Just lucky I guess."  
"How'd you get Mikado?"  
Nabiki smirked. "He still hasn't got his 1000th kiss yet. I told him Reiko might be grateful if he helped boost her ego a bit."  
"Nabiki!"  
"Hey, I said 'might'. It's not like I promised she wouldn't belt him across the ocean when he eventually makes his move, right?"  
"sigh"  
  
Azusa was water-skiing farther out, when Mikado came skimming by across the water, holding his groin with both hands and sobbing (in a voice several octaves higher than normal) about still being at 999.  
"Oh, Miki. You so fast! You're going even faster than Pépi!" Pépi being the name she had given the motor boat her butler Jean-Pierre (whose real name was Al) was towing her with. She had also named each of her water skis, but why spend more time in Azusa's empty head than necessary?   
  
"Hey Akane, do you want to come for a swim?" Reiko asked. She had wanted to go a while ago, but Akane seemed quite content to spend the whole day on the sand.  
"Um... no. You go ahead." Akane said nervously.   
"It's no fun swimming alone. Come on! You'll burn if you suntan much longer."  
"I don't feel like it."  
Reiko put her hands on her hips and rolled her eyes. "Come on. We're going to leave in a couple of hours. You can't come all the way to the beach an not swim."  
"Sure I can."  
Nabiki lifted her shades and looked at her sister. "Why don't you just tell her Akane?"  
"Because I don't want to!"  
Reiko sighed and scooped Akane up, throwing protesting girl over her shoulder. "Relax, I promise you'll have fun. Just get in the ocean already!"  
"NO!" Akane shrieked. "Put me down!"  
Nabiki just sighed. It was Akane's own fault for being so embarrassed about it. Oh well, Reiko wouldn't let her drown in any case.  
"Please! Reiko, please put me down!" It was the genuine fear in Akane's voice that stopped Reiko. She put Akane on her feet in front of her.  
"What's the big fuss?"  
Akane calmed down and then looked at the ground. "I can't swim."   
Reiko shrugged. "Why didn't you just say so? I'll teach you."  
"I don't think that'd help. Lots of people have tried teaching me before, and I just never get it. I don't think it's something I can be taught."  
"I don't believe that." Reiko said. Akane didn't look like she was changing her mind. "We'll, anyway, we can still have fun in the water even if you can't swim."  
"Really? Like what?"  
Reiko smiled. "I'll show you."  
  
That was how Akane found her self in chest-deep water, playing tag, and giggling like a child. She soon found out that to move with any semblance of speed, she had to pull herself through the water with her hands.They played other games, like the one where they had to duck under the water together and see which one could make the other laugh by making faces, which would force the other to go back up for air. Since they did it in the same chest-deep water, Akane could always find the air if she needed it, and didn't choke on any water at all. It wouldn't be until another day that she realized Reiko was teaching her the basics (the extremely basic basics) of swimming without her realizing it.   
After a while, Reiko stopped the games for something more challenging. She went back to shore and produced two scuba masks and pairs of flippers.   
"Akane, out a little farther is a beautiful coral reef. It's something everyone should see sometime. I can take you there if you hold onto my back."  
"But it's deep there, isn't it?"  
Reiko nodded. "Yes it is, but if you hold onto me there'll be no problem. Do you trust me?"  
Akane hesitated a moment, then nodded. "Okay, let's go."  
They donned the masks and flippers, Akane being told that she didn't have to move hers at all. Reiko would do the work, so Akane didn't have to worry about screwing up and drowning them both.   
"Don't we need snorkels?"  
"They're useless unless you want to just glide along the surface. We want to get a much closer look than that."  
Akane wasn't sure how she felt about that, but she put her arms around Reiko's neck anyway. They set out away from shore, Reiko using a modified breast stroke to keep both their heads above water. She would occasionally stick her face down into the water to see if they were at the right place yet.   
"Okay, we're here. Akane, I want you to take a deep breath, and then we're going to dive. Don't be scared, you're with me. If you think you can't hold it much longer, tap me, and we'll go back up for a while. I don't think that should be a problem, you can probably hold your breath almost as long as I can."   
Akane was shaking, and it wasn't entirely because the ocean was cold. "O-Ok."  
"Ready? Big breath now."   
Akane took a big breath and down they went.   
It was scary at first, having water completely around her head, and no footing to push off of, but Reiko had asked her to trust her. She focused at what she could see.   
It was beautiful. White-brown coral twisting into interesting shapes. Lush green seaweed moving slowly in the current, waving to her as they passed by. Schools of colourful fish swimming by and darting away from them in fear. Creatures that seemed more like plants. There was just so much _colour_!  
Then Akane began to feel the burning in her lungs becoming more uncomfortable. In a panic she began rapidly tapping Reiko's chest with one hand with her arms still tightly wrapped around the other girl's neck. Reiko obediently started upwards, then stopped and pulled firmly on Akane's arms. NO! She was trying to dislodge Akane and leave her down here! Akane clung even tighter as Reiko started to jerk in alarm. The raven-haired girl began rapidly tapping Akane's arms instead of pulling, then something clicked in Akane's head. When she had practiced chokeholds and antilevers (such as armbars), a tap was the signal to ease up.   
She had been choking Reiko.   
Akane immediately loosened up, and Reiko ripped her arms away, coming around behind Akane before the terrified girl had any idea what was going on. Keeping out of reach of Akane's arms, Reiko cupped her chin and began to drag her upward that way with long, powerful strokes. Akane stopped thrashing as she realized Reiko was finally taking her up.  
As they broke the surface, Reiko kept behind Akane, pulling her out so Akane floated on her back, while keeping herself mostly out of reach of the panicked non-swimmer.   
"gasp Why'd you let me go?"  
"huh because I didn't want huh you to choke me again." Reiko answered.  
"I thought you were huh going to leave me."  
"Never!" Reiko said fervently. "I promised I wouldn't let you drown. I guess I should have made you promise not to drown me at the same time, huh?"   
"I'm sorry I choked you."  
"Well, you got scared. You have to calm down. Didn't you say you trusted me?"  
"Well, yes."  
"Then you better remember that down there! I won't leave you, and I won't let you drown! You have to stay calm. If you're panicked, you'll use up your air supply faster."   
"Sorry." Akane said meekly.  
Reiko sighed. "Do you want to go back in now?"  
Akane was still taking deep breaths, calming herself. "Actually, I kinda want to see more."  
Reiko laughed. "Figures. Now you want to go swimming and I'm the reluctant one." She moved around in front of Akane again. "We'll do it a little differently this time." She said, pulling Akane's arms under her own, and placing Akane's hands behind her head, in the hold wrestlers would recognize as a Full Nelson. "Let's see you choke me now!"  
"But I can still break your neck." Akane teased, remembering exactly why this hold was banned from most forms of wrestling.   
"Don't even think about it!" Reiko snapped playfully as she warned Akane to take another big breath and they went down again.   
They did two more dives, and each time, Akane managed not to panic when her lungs began to burn. She simply tapped the back of Reiko's neck and they began their ascent. On the third dive, Reiko led them a little too close to a piece of coral and scratched Akane's leg. She flinched, which Reiko felt. The dark-haired girl turned her head curiously, giving a thumbs up to ask if Akane needed air. Akane shook her head and pulled her leg forward to show Reiko that that was all it was. A deep scratch certainly, but nothing a Band-Aid wouldn't fix.   
Now it was Reiko's turn to panic. She immediately left for the surface, moving as fast as she had that first time when both of them had been nearly out of air due to their struggles. Akane didn't get it. She wouldn't need air for another 20 seconds at least, and Reiko was better at holding her breath than her.   
"What's up?" Akane asked as they broke the surface of the water.  
"You're bleeding!"  
"So? It's just a little scratch. I'm fine, really."  
"Do you have any idea how far away a shark can smell a single drop of blood in the water?" Reiko screamed.   
"Uh..." Akane said intelligently. Any response she might have eventually have formulated was cut off as she spotted the dorsal fin approaching in the distance behind Reiko.   
Her wide eyes warned the other girl, who spun (as best she could while still holding Akane up) and cursed violently.   
"I'll have to lead it away."  
"But I can't swim without you!" Akane cried in panic, as the shark began to circle them.   
"Actually, that's good. Normal swimming makes the type of splashes that attract sharks. I need you to do something different."  
"O-ok."  
"Take a deep breath, fill your lungs with air, all the way, right down to your stomach. From now on, take only little breaths so that you stay mostly full of air the whole time. That'll keep you afloat. Now lie on your back and reach over your head with both arms and pull the water down beside you, like you did when we were playing tag."  
Akane did this as Reiko spoke it, and noted that she moved a bit away from Reiko as she did so.  
"Good." Reiko pointed her towards shore. "Now don't go too fast. If you make big splashes the shark will pay attention to you."  
"Is this a type of swimming?"  
"No. It's called... strafing."  
"Oh good, because I don't know how to swim."  
"Exactly." Reiko muttered.   
"What? I didn't hear you."  
"Never mind. Get going."  
"But what about you?"  
"I'll lead it away."  
"No! Why don't you just strafe back with me?"  
"Because if I don't it'll eventually zero in on that scratch of yours. Go! I'll be ok!"  
"A-alright!" Akane said as she began to 'strafe' back to shore.   
Reiko took off in another direction with a splash-inducing front crawl. After she was a little ways away, she checked the shark's position to make sure it was following her. She couldn't see it. Cursing again, she dug her fingernails deeply into her forearm, drawing blood and swishing it about in the water. Akane's little scratch had probably already stopped bleeding, so Reiko's would be the only fresh blood around.   
Reiko swam a little farther away from Akane, stopping to check again. Sure enough, she could see the dorsal fin advancing on her again. Akane was halfway back to shore.   
  
Akane was still 'strafing', and trying hard not to let her panic to speed up her movements, when a hand tapped her shoulder.   
"Hey Akane, when'd you learn how to swim like that?" Ranma-chan asked, standing in chest-deep water.  
"This is swimming?"  
"Yeah. I think it's called a modified back stroke or something like that."  
Akane promptly sank like a rock.   
Ranma-chan sighed and lifted her flailing fiancée to her feet.   
Akane sputtered as she grabbed Ranma-chan by the shoulders urgently. "We have to get a boat! Reiko's in the water with a shark!"  
"What!" Ranma-chan cried in shock.  
"Come on! Hurry!"  
  
Reiko dodged the shark's charge again, pushing off the shark's head at the last second to slip out of reach. It was reminiscent of Ranma's moves when he spared against Akane.   
It was also just delaying the inevitable.   
  
"There she is!" Akane cried and pointed. She was standing at the head of the lifeguard boat they had commandeered (the lifeguards hadn't moved fast enough to satisfy Ranma and Akane, and were left behind).   
"Rei! Hold on, we're coming!" Akane cried as Ranma-chan steered the small motorboat toward the dark-haired girl in the water.  
Reiko turned at the sound of the cry and waved with relief.   
Of course, this meant taking her eyes of the frustrated shark, who got hold of her leg and pulled her under.   
Akane screamed in denial as Reiko was dragged beneath the waves. Ranma-chan stopped the boat right about where she had gone under and joined Akane in looking frantically over the side.   
Both caught their breath as a thick cloud of red blood billowed up through the waters.   
Akane was about to jump in, when she recalled she couldn't swim (and 'strafing' wouldn't help here).   
"Ranma! You have to go in and get her!"  
Ranma-chan gripped the edge of the boat with white knuckles and spoke with a tight throat.   
"Akane... look at all that blood. It's too late now. She's gone."  
"NO!" Akane screamed, even as she sank down into the bottom of the boat in tears. Ranma-chan was right. Why did she have to be right?  
Ranma-chan just stared down grimly at the red waters below her...   
...and nearly shit in her one-piece when a hand reached out of the water and clamped down on the edge of the boat.   
"YAAAAHH!" She cried out as she rapidly backed up as far as the small boat would let her. Akane looked up just as Reiko pulled her head up over the edge, gasping for breath.  
"Reiko! You're alive!" Akane cried and rushed forth to hug her friend. Ranma-chan was a little more practical, once she calmed down.   
"Hey! Don't just sit there! Pull her in!" She cried and moved forward to do just that. Akane let go of Reiko's neck and pulled up on her arm.   
Once they had the gasping Reiko all the way into the boat, they could see the self-inflicted cuts on her left forearm, and the deep bite marks in her right calf.   
It also was noted that she had the shark's jaws in one of her hands, still with several pieces of meat clinging to it.   
Ranma-chan gawked. "Is... is that..."  
Reiko held it in front of her proudly. "I've always wanted one of these. I think I'll mount it and hang it on the wall." She chuckled as she began idly ripping the remaining bits of flesh off the bone.   
"So all that blood wasn't yours..."  
Reiko grimaced. "Well, most of it wasn't. The little bastard bites pretty deep." She complained, holding her bleeding leg.   
Akane found a first aid kit in the bow and began to wrap it up for her.   
"So you weren't in danger after all." Ranma-chan scoffed.  
"I wouldn't say that. With all the blood in the water, sharks must be coming from miles around. In fact, there's probably a feeding frenzy going on underneath us as we speak. I'm quite happy not to be in the middle of it."  
Ranma-chan swallowed. "Feeding frenzy? Um... how about we go back to shore now.   
The other two girls nodded eagerly.   
  
Akane watched her friend with concern as she sat in the front of the boat wringing seawater out of her long hair, as Ranma-chan drove the boat.   
"Hey! Wait a minute Reiko!"  
The dark-eyed girl blinked at her. "What's wrong?"  
"What about your curse?"  
"Oh that. My twin is back in town visiting friends."  
  
***  
  
"Hi Reiko! What can I get you?." Ukyou smiled at Ranma's semi-fiancée. Actually, she was smiling at everyone today, including Tsubasa (even while she simultaneously sent him flying across the city for pretending to be one of her stools).   
Reiko grinned as she slid onto the stool (odd, Ukyou seemed to be one short today). "Seafood special please."  
"It'll be done in just a minute!" Ukyou beamed.   
"Sooo..." Reiko began. "It seems you and Ranma spent the night a rollin' betwixt the sheets. How'd the boy do?"  
Ukyou hadn't dropped an Okonomiyaki in eight years. So much for her record.  
  
***  
  
Ranma-chan snapped her fingers in recollection. "So that's what that clap of thunder was before we left the house. I was worried it was going to rain today."  
Akane sat on the small seat beside Reiko, so they could talk without yelling over the engine.  
"But I thought it was horrible for you when you change."  
Reiko nodded. "Well yes, but you seemed to really want to go to the beach, so..."  
"Oh my God! Reiko, I'm so sorry! I completely forgot about your curse!"  
Reiko waved it off. "Don't worry about it. I had a lot of fun today," She chuckled, "even got to play with some marine life." She waved the jaws. "I won the game."  
"You have to get used to changing." Ranma-chan said as they beached the boat and got out. "Jyusenkyo-cursed people attract water like magnets."  
"Since when do magnets attract water." Akane mumbled to Reiko.   
Reiko nodded to Ranma-chan. "It's been getting a little better. I think I... we only blacked out for a few seconds this time."  
Akane still felt really guilty, and it showed on her face.  
Reiko put a reassuring arm around her shoulders. "Hey, come on now. Tell me, did you have fun today?"  
Akane smiled a little and nodded.   
Reiko grinned and patted her shoulder. "Then it was worth it. Let's go home."  
  
***  
  
And off they walked into the setting sun.  
(er... hold on a minute. Tokyo's on the east side of Honshu, so the closest beaches would be on the east coast, walking inland and therefore facing west...)  
Yep. Into the setting sun. There's a nice little ending... for now.  
What will Shampoo do about her great-grandmother?  
How does Ranma intend to handle the rest of his fiancees? (running for the hills sounds good!)  
How does Ukyou feel about sharing the good news with Reiko?  
How will Reiko almost get killed next episode?  
Will her desire to make Akane fall in love with her be thwarted by a horrible case of hertosexuality? (Oops! I didn't spoil anything, did I? Nah, you guys are smart. I'm sure you saw it coming!)(Of course, anyone who didn't is going to hate me now. -_-)  
Will the author run out of inane leading questions anytime this page?  
Find out next time.  
  
contact at hinoron@hotmail.com. Comments, critizisms, advice, suggestions... useless flames will be printed, folded into little airplanes and launched at my cat next time she pukes on the carpet.  
  
Ja na!  



	6. Chapter Six (half of it anyway)

Chimidoro no Ryuu   
Chapter 6  
  
A Ranma 1/2 Fanfiction by Hino, Ron  
  
================================================================================  
*** WARNING! FIRST DRAFT! ***  
Chapters 3-6 are in desperate need of revision, perhaps even total rewrites of the plot. I've sat on them for a while, but I'm not sure what elements I want to keep and what's a useless pile of biological waste. I've been told I let people get too far out of character, but sited examples and suggestions would be much appreciated, as well as anything else that sucks about it. Please review these chapters and then forget you ever saw them! Only Chapters 1 & 2 should be considered ready for public viewing.  
Oh, and chapter 6 here is too short, and should be considered to be only half done.  
  
Suggestions to hinoron@hotmail.com  
Thanks much for your assistance.   
================================================================================  
  
  
Just a brief foreword:   
1. Ranma and friends are owned by Rumiko Takahashi and a bunch of corporations.   
Except for the new characters, everyone else belongs to her and them. I don't   
own them. Please don't take ideas or (my) characters from this story without my   
permission.  
2. "Chimidoro no Ryuu" means, loosely translated, "Bloody Dragon". That would   
make the full name of the School "Chimidoro no Ryuu Ryu" (ryu meaning a martial   
arts school/style). To avoid the confusion, it will always be written as the   
Chimidoro no Ryuu School, or the shorter Chimidoro school, though in the second   
case it is a reference more to Reiko's family name then the school's title.  
3. I've stopped going through and manually wordwrapping each line, (Except for   
this foreword, of course) so download this and read it with a word processor.  
  
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All was quiet at the Tendo Dojo, relatively speaking. You see, there was the clack of shogi pieces striking the board (and if you were really attentive, the near-silent removal of said pieces when someone turned their back); there was the sounds of the TV that Akane was watching; the occasional flip of a page of Nabiki's manga; the sounds of clinking dishes and running water from the kitchen where Kasumi did the dinner dishes, one of the many thankless tasks she cheerfully carried out as an expression of love for her family. Loudest of all were the grunts and occasional kiais of Ranma and Reiko as they trained together in the yard, but even with all this going on, the dojo was still considered 'quiet', as Old Chaos had not reared his freakish head in days.  
Needless to say, some people in the household were getting a little nervous. Calm comes before the storm, as the saying goes, and the longer the calm, the more horrible the storm.  
So it was almost with some relief that Ranma and Genma leapt into the pond upon hearing the gentle voice of Nadoka Saotome politely letting herself in. The Saotome matriarch was a 'storm' of sorts, but not one any of them lacked experience in weathering.  
Save Reiko of course, but we're getting to that.   
Soun found himself staring at the empty space where his opponent had sat. temporarily miffed at having his game interrupted, he chuckled and moved several pieces before lifting his head to greet their guest.  
"Welcome, Nadoka-san. What brings you here on this fine day?"  
Reiko had stood for several seconds with fist outstretched after her opponent turned tail and dived for the pond in the middle of the match. Reiko, not having the patience or good temper of Soun, was not miffed at the interruption; she was pissed. She was about to yell at Ranma, as Nadoka and Soun exchanged pleasantries, when he (or rather, she) clutched Reiko's gi frantically and whispered in her ear.  
"Listen! My name is Ranko, and Ranma and his father are away on a training trip!"  
"What the..."  
"Just play along!" Ranma said, turning to his mother and said in a girlish voice. "Oh Auntie Saotome!"  
"Oh hello Ranko," the older woman said pleasantly. "My but you truly love that pond, don't you? Almost every time I see you you're playing in it with Mr. Panda."  
"Ah... well I like to try and catch the koi with my hands. Mr. Panda does too, but he's too slow, so we don't have to worry about him eating them or nothing."  
'Mr. Panda' caught a fish one-handed (pawed?) and smacked Ranko upside the head with it. Fortunately, Nadoka had already turned to greet Reiko.  
"Why hello. I don't believe we've met. My name is Nadoka Saotome, Ranma's mother. Pleased to meet you."  
Reiko, still confused, bowed back. "I'm Reiko Chimidoro. I'm..." she glanced at Ranma-chan, "...a houseguest. Ranma's mother you say? I'm afraid he's never mentioned you in the short time I've been here. I'd sort of assumed you were deceased."   
Nadoko laughed. "Oh no. My husband took Ranma on a training trip when he was very small. We haven't seen each other in more than a decade. It's not surprising he doesn't talk about me. I wonder if he even remembers what I look like."  
"That long? I think I'd like to here the story behind this one." Reiko said as they came inside.  
Nadoka looked at Soun. "My, are you playing by yourself?"  
Several people swallowed. Reiko smoothly sat down in Genma's place. "No, I merely stepped out for a moment to tell Ranko we had a visitor."   
"Ah of course. I'm sorry for interrupting your game."  
"Don't worry. If you don't mind, would you tell me about it while I play? Please don't think me inattentive, but I'd like to keep my eyes on the board while you talk. Mr. Tendo has a deplorable habit of moving pieces around if you give him the chance."  
"Really now!" Soun bristled.  
"Play by the rules, old man." Reiko said fondly.  
Nadoka chuckled and started to tell her tale.  
In five minutes Nadoka had given the short version of her story and Reiko had won the game from the disadvantageous position Soun had left Genma. Reiko never took her eyes off the board, leaving Soun no opportunity to cheat. Needless to say, her strategy rapidly beat down Soun's own underused skills at the game.   
Reiko turned from the humiliated older man to Nadoka. "I must say, your tale has made my opinion of your husband worse than before."  
Nadoka sighed. "I suppose I'm not surprised. Still, if he's managed to turn my little Ranma into a true man, than I'll forgive him for leaving me alone all these years."  
Nadoka brightened. "So tell me, Reiko. You've met my son several times, yes?"  
"You could say so." Reiko smirked.  
"What kind of a man is he?"  
"Ranma is no man." Reiko responded.   
Silence reigned. Ranma-chan and the furry Genma froze solid in fear.  
"W-what?" Nadoka stuttered, gripping the wrapped sword tightly.  
"Reiko!" Akane cried. "Why would you say something like that!"  
"Because I would never insult Ranma by referring to him in that way."  
"Huh?"  
"I don't understand." Nadoka admitted.  
"Reiko, take it back!" Ranko cried.  
"What would you have me say, Ranko? That Ranma is the embodiment of manhood?"  
"That'd be good!"  
Reiko's eye's bored into Nadoka's. "Men are violent, brutal and cruel. Men think with only their fists or their cocks. They are devoid of compassion, mercy, or kindness. They are never happy unless they are causing someone pain.  
"Now why would I say that a nice guy like Ranma is the embodiment of manhood? None of those characteristics fit him well, if at all."  
Nadoka's confusion still remained.  
Akane leaned toward her. "Um, Auntie Nadoka? Reiko's had some pretty bad experiences with men, so that might explain why she feels saying Ranma is a real man is an insult."  
"I... see." Nadoka relaxed, and smiled kindly at the dark girl. "I suppose I'm glad then that Ranma is... no man."  
Mr. Panda was at her side in an instant with a paper and pen. [Could we have that in writing?] Ranko smacked him before anything came of it.  
Nadoka looked sadly at Reiko. "Ah you poor girl. What could have happened to you to turn your heart so viciously against men?"  
Reiko cocked her head with a grim smile. "My life is what happened to me. My father is a man I hope you never have to meet, unless I take you to visit his grave, as I hope to be able to soon. I intend to piss on it as soon as I put him in the ground."  
Nadoka was a bit shocked at what the girl was saying to her, but Reiko talked right over her stuttered protests.   
"My mother was a very traditional woman. She believed that if her husband wished to hit her, it was probably her fault in some way. If he wished to hit his only child, it was also her fault for not being diligent enough in my upbringing. If he enjoyed his sex in a brutal, violent manner, it was her duty to give it to him. She gave everything she had to that man, her family's money, her health, her fertility, and eventually, when I was seven, her life. Even after all she did for him, he hit both of us almost every day, sometimes just because he felt like hitting something, and soft flesh is so much more satisfying then practice dummies.   
"Some children can hear their parent's actions in the bedroom growing up. You could have heard my mother's screams of pain half a kilometre from our house. And before you suggest that it was a different kind of scream, trust me when I say they weren't. By the time I was three I was helping her put ice on her bruises and staunch the flow of blood from her private areas, or anywhere else she happened to be bleeding.   
"Some children who hear their parents are a bit disgusted. Try to imagine me, crying quietly in terror. There was no way I could sleep, and besides, mother might need my help when it was over."  
"Dear God, you poor child!" was all Nadoka could say. She was actually crying in sympathy. Reiko's eyes were dry and hard.  
"I can still hear in my mind the last scream she gave as she died underneath him. That was the day I vowed never to let any man do that to me."  
"Oh Reiko dear, you can't let one bad experience-"   
"ONE BAD EXPERIENCE?" Reiko roared. "We are talking about my _entire_ life! After Mom died he took to bringing whores home, and about a dozen of those died too, and of the ones who lived, not a one came back again. Ambulances usually took them away; none of them had mother's durability. Since I could walk, he's been hitting be because I wasn't a boy, hitting me because I wasn't strong enough, and because he knew I hated him for murdering my mother!"  
Reiko realized she was on her feet and screaming into Nadoka's face. She sat down and looked at the floor, glaring at it in a way that made many people present glad they were not floorboards.  
"Forgive me, I just can't talk about it without getting angry again." She took a deep breath to calm herself.  
Nadoka eventually opened her mouth to say something, but was interrupted by Reiko's quiet voice.   
"I'm here training to improve my fighting abilities until I can kill my father. Ranma was the one who made the decision to help me. He is the one training me to help kill my father with my own hands. Everyone else balks at the idea. That's the sort of man your son is Nadoka-san; the kind who would see justice done even if it doesn't sit too well with those around him.  
"Of all the men I've met, only two have earned my respect. Mr. Tendo has shown me that men can be honorable, and Ranma has shown me that men can be kind. That doesn't mean I intend to let any man do to me what my father did to my mother, even if they were gentler about it. I gave up on men in that way a long time ago." She got up and abruptly left the room, not wishing to discuss it any further.   
"Reiko..." Akane said, looking after her friend.   
"I... I think perhaps I've overstayed my welcome." Nadoka said. She ignored protests to the contrary and left politely. Akane was left to ponder the words Reiko had left them with.  
Suddenly the incident of a few days ago made a bit more sense...  
  
***  
  
Akane had gone to visit Yuka and Sayuri at Yuka's home, and Reiko had tagged along. Yuka had received a baby brother only a few days ago.   
"He's so cute!" Sayuri squealed.   
"Hey there little guy!" Akane smiled, brushing his cheek with her fingers, letting him grip one of them. Yuka carefully picked him out of the crib and handed little Tarou to Akane, since he already had a hold on her. Akane played with him for a bit as adults do with infants, then passed him off to Sayuri who blew on his stomach, making a farting noise, to his great delight.  
"Do you want to hold him, Reiko?" Yuka asked.  
"No. No thank you." Reiko said quietly.  
The three girls looked up at the fourth, who had been standing a little ways away the whole time. Truth to tell, she had been so silent that the other girls had almost forgotten her. Reiko was the only one in the room (baby included) not smiling.   
Sayuri blinked. "Why not? He's sooo precious!"  
"Fine." Reiko said, a little more testily than she wanted to. "If you think so then go back to playing with him. Just leave me out of it."  
Yuka got angry. "Are you saying there's something wrong with my baby brother?"  
"No."  
"Then why don't you want to hold him?"  
"I don't... like kids."  
Sayuri handed Tarou off to Akane and came to stand with Yuka against Reiko. "What do you mean you don't like kids? Every girl likes babies!"  
Reiko avoided their eyes. "Not me."  
"Feh! Guess even Ranma's more of a girl then you." Yuka snorted.  
Reiko's eyes came back up, boring through Yuka's and seeming to burn the back of her skull.  
Yuka took a few steps back. "I'm...I'm sorry. If you don't want to hold him, it's no big deal."  
Akane watched Reiko carefully. "Reiko, can you at least tell us why not?"  
Reiko's 'fuck off' glare swiveled in Akane's direction, but she didn't flinch. Reiko relaxed her gaze and walked to the window, looking out at the street.  
"I'm never going to have any of my own, so why get attached to them now?" She said eventually.  
Yuka and Sayuri just looked confused. Akane's eyes widened.   
"You mean, you knew? I... I thought you were still unconscious when Dr. Tofu said that."  
Reiko looked at her curiously. "What on Earth are you talking about?"  
Akane blinked.  
Reiko blinked.  
Yuka and Sayuri blinked.  
Tarou giggled.   
"Um... nothing. Forget I ever said anything. So, Yuka, can we feed him, or is he still breastfeeding?" Akane said, quickly trying to brush over the incident, which is how Reiko knew that whatever she was hiding, it was something very bad.  
That was when Reiko did something she would later regret, and apologise profusely for, though Akane would insist that her actions were quite understandable under the circumstances.   
Yuka's answer was cut off as Reiko marched up to Akane and took Tarou from her arms. Akane wondered if she had changed her mind about the baby until Reiko gave him immediately to Yuka. She then turned back to Akane and pulled her roughly to her feet by the straps of her dress, pushing her against a wall.   
"What are you hiding from me? What did Dr. Tofu say? TALK!" Reiko's eyes showed more panic than anger. Was she dying from some strange disease, or...  
"Y-you're sterile." Akane stuttered. "At...at least he thinks so. All the blows you've taken to the abdomen over the years from your father, they've damaged your reproductive organs. He said he'd have to do more tests to be certain, but he didn't think you'd ever be able to bear children."  
There was a long minute of silence, broken only by the occasional gurgle from the blessedly ignorant child. When he realized that the arms holding him had frozen like stone, and no one was paying him any attention, he began to cry. The noise was what forced everybody to move again. Yuka tried to quiet him, and succeeded. Reiko let Akane go.  
"I'm sorry." Akane said softly.   
"Heh, don't worry about it. I said I wasn't going to have kids because I didn't want to go through the process of having them, particularly the conception part. I guess this is just one more reason not to get attached to them." Reiko chuckled.   
Yuka and Sayuri sighed with relief as the tension passed out of the room. They began chatting over the baby.   
Akane couldn't be like them yet. She'd seen the look in Reiko's eyes; that brief moment of horror before the walls came back up again. She took Reiko's hand and led her to the other girls and the baby.  
"You can always adopt, you know." She said gently.  
"...I guess I can. I hadn't thought of that." Reiko admitted. She allowed her hand to be brought within reach of Tarou, who gripped her finger with a strength she hadn't thought possible for such a tiny person, as he looked up at her and gurgled happily.  
Akane was delighted when Reiko started to smile. Well, it wasn't much of a smile, more of a quirk at one end of the mouth; a tiny, tentative, attempt at a smile for the little baby.  
But it was a smile.   
  
***  
  
It was pretty obvious to Akane that Reiko had no interest in falling in love with any man. However, did that mean she was planning a life of spinsterhood, or lesbianism? Akane had no way to answer that question (remember people, this is the girl who can't understand why Ranma picks on P-chan), and if it was the latter, what were Reiko's intentions toward her?  
  
  
"Oh yes. I'll kill him, and break my promise at the same   
time. That means I'm no longer engaged to Ranma, so I'm free. No more men will   
have any hold on me anymore, not even a friendly one like Ranma has."  
  
"I guess I'm just not much of a girl, then."  
  
"Akane, are _you_ afraid of me?"  
  
"Cremate me. You deal with my ashes however you like... You're probably my best friend."  
  
"You don't have to watch if you don't want to. You can wait for me at home if you prefer."   
  
"True, but sometimes his being a jerk can be rather convenient."  
  
"Well, anyway, we can still have fun in the water even if you can't swim."  
  
"Yes it is, but if you hold onto me there'll be no problem. Do you trust me?"  
  
"Don't be scared, you're with me."  
  
"Akane, I'm... scared."  
  
"Never! I promised I wouldn't let you drown. I guess I should have made you promise not to drown me at the same time, huh?"   
  
"Thanks. It's nice to have someone trust me."  
  
"Thanks. It's sweet of you to say. I've never had many friends.  
  
"Thank you."  
  
"Akane... thanks."  
  
  
Well, whether Reiko loved her as a best (and only) female friend or as something more, it was obvious that she cared about Akane deeply. If she rejected Reiko, it would break her heart. Akane swore to herself that she would never do that.  
No matter how it turned out.  
  
***  
  
"Dammit Ranma, hold still!"  
"Why would I want to do that?" Ranma said, ducking under Akane's punch.   
"Fight me for real!"  
"If you want to hit me, then get faster. Getting mad at me is useless." Ranma chuckled.   
Reiko, who'd been watching by the dojo door, sighed as Akane only got madder, and thus sloppier. The girl really did have some great skills, but she couldn't compare to her or Ranma, and she wasn't improving much either. Ranma may have been a fighter par excellence, but he was somewhat lacking as a teacher. She went back to the house.  
  
Akane came back to the house sweaty, tired and humiliated, yet with a plan in mind.  
"Reiko, will you train me?"  
Reiko blinked over her tea. "I'm not a practitioner of the Anything Goes style, I can't teach you that."  
"Fine, so teach me your style." Akane said.   
From the look in Reiko's eyes, she probably shouldn't have.  
Reiko set her cup down with a bang, making Akane jump. She looked hard into Akane's eyes. "You want to become a student of the Chimidoro no Ryuu School of Martial Arts?"  
Akane blinked and nodded. "Not officially. The Anything Goes style is powerful because it absorbs the techniques and methods of other styles. It has almost no limiting traditions or rules, hence the name 'Anything Goes'. So I'd still my a member of the Tendo Anything Goes school even while I trained under you."   
"The Chimidoro School is not like other styles." Reiko said grimly. She pulled the Furinkan School uniform over her head, standing in the (conveniently empty) living room in her underwear. She ran her fingers along the multitude of scars that decorated her body.  
"If I train you, it will be the same way my father trained me. Are you prepared to look like this?"  
Akane blinked at the sudden strip show, then snapped out of it and looked serious. "That is a sacrifice I'm willing to make to be strong."  
Reiko threw her dress angrily to the ground and grabbed Akane by her gi jacket. "If we start, we wouldn't stop. If you ask me to train you, you won't be able to ask me to leave you alone."  
"I wouldn't want a sensei who would let me quit." Akane answered.  
Reiko slowly closed her eyes, and let Akane go. "When --not if, when-- you ask me to let up on you, I'm going to repeat those same words back to you."  
She put her dress back on. "I want you to spend the night thinking about the scars on my body. I want you to imagine them on yours. I want you to imagine the pain as I give them to you. I want you to think about the sheer amount of blood, sweat, and tears that you _will_ shed for this training. You're going to be in pain almost constantly from the time we start until the day I feel there's no more I can teach you, which would be years in the future. Spend the night restless and unable to sleep thinking about all that torture and pain, and if you still want to ask me in the morning to train you, I'll listen then."  
Reiko turned at Akane's nod of agreement, and made to leave the room. In the doorway to the porch, she paused, looking rather tired. "Akane... please don't think I'd respect you any less if you change your mind, in fact, I'm kind of hoping you will."  
With that, she stepped outside and leapt to the roof.   
Akane sat there, somewhat confused. The 'think long and hard about it' speech she had been expecting. It was just a test of her resolve, but this last statement was a little different. Reiko didn't want her to train in the Chimidoro style. Why? Akane thought she would be proud to share her family's teachings, regardless of her hatred of the current master of the school.  
Or maybe, she wasn't as put off with the idea of Akane learning the style, as she was of being the one to teach it to her.  
  
***  
  
The next morning, Akane woke to find Reiko gone from their room, but her school uniform still hung on the hanger. Taking that as a cue, Akane quickly dressed in her gi and went downstairs.   
Last night, her father had asked her to reconsider this idea (apparently at Reiko's request) claiming that she should learn from her fiancé. She had responded that she was a martial artist, first and foremost, and she could never live with herself if she did not take advantage of this opportunity to study a powerful style, which would only add to the strength of the Tendo dojo.  
She found Reiko sitting in the middle of the dojo in her red gi, and sat down facing her.  
"You slept quietly last night." Reiko said slowly. "Which means either you didn't take my warning seriously, or you're a complete masochist, looking forward to the pain and suffering."  
Akane didn't know what to say to that. Judging by the redness of Reiko's eyes, she had not slept as well as Akane had.   
"So," Reiko continued, "What's your answer? You are not prepared to train in the Chimidoro style, but do you want to try... no, to _do_ it anyway?"  
"Yes, Sensei." Akane responded. Reiko closed her eyes sadly.  
"As you wish. Let's begin." She stood.  
"We're not going to school today?"  
"No, you probably won't be able to make it there for at least a week. In fact, you'll probably fail this year. Last chance to back out now."  
"...No thanks. I'll stay." Akane said, standing as well.  
"Fine." Reiko snorted. "Then we begin with durability training."  
"Durability training?" Akane had never heard of such a thing.  
A fast and powerful kick slammed into her stomach, doubling her over as she fell to her knees. As she knelt there, trying not to vomit, hands took her head and jerked it sharply to the side. Discs popped in complaint of the rough treatment. Since Akane didn't crack her knuckles, much less her neck, it was rather painful this first time.  
"Crack. You're dead." Reiko said coldly. "If you can't shrug off a single kick like that, you've no way to defend yourself. Now stand up. Now!"  
Akane shakily stood up. "H-how does this durability training work anyway?"  
"Simple." Reiko said. "I beat you unconscious repeatedly until your pain threshold increases dramatically."   
"Huh?" Was all Akane managed before Reiko was on her again. Only three blows to her more prominent pain clusters were needed to send Akane into blackness.  
  
***  
  
By the end of the session (8 hours plus lunch), Akane could remain conscious for five blows before Reiko sent her back to the floor. She had been told she could work on her defense (not that it would do any good) but that was mostly to give Akane something to do for those short periods she was conscious. Akane gave up trying to block and just focused on _seeing_ the blows coming at her. She was getting a bit better at it.  
At the end of a very long day (or short, seeing how she was out cold for half of it) Akane limped to the bath, cursing Reiko's name. This had _not_ been in the warning!   
  
'You're going to be in pain almost constantly from the time we start until the day I feel there's no more I can teach you.'  
  
Okay, so maybe she did say something along those lines, but this... this was just brutal!  
  
  
When Akane came out of the bath, feeling a little (very little) better, Nabiki was waiting for her. Her older sister's face was somber.   
"I have a recording I think you should listen to." She said, holding up a mini tape recorder.  
"Not now Nabiki. I need to go lie down." Akane said tiredly. "Besides, I don't feel like paying you."  
Nabiki stepped in front of her as Akane attempted to pass her by. "This is free."  
Akane blinked. "That's twice you've done something charitable in the last week."  
"I'll admit, there's not many things I care about more than money, but one of them is my family, little sister. That's why I think you should listen to this, for free if _absolutely_ necessary." She said with a smirk.  
"Fine. So what is it?"  
"We were all a bit worried about this training with Reiko thing you've started. I bugged the dojo just to make sure you didn't get killed or something. I almost went down there after she beat you under the first time, but then I heard this." Nabiki said as she pressed play.  
"sniff Damn you Akane! sniff Why'd you have to ask for this? Don't you know I'd have done anything you asked? Given you anything you wanted from me? You stupid, stupid girl. choke Now I'm trapped into hurting you. you've made me your torturer. sniff And now you're going to start hating me. Hating me like I hate my father. I love you, you stupid girl! How do you think I feel hurting you, making you cry and bleed? sobbing shudder I don't have anyone else, and now I'm going to lose you too. Damn you!" At this point, Reiko just sobbed and sobbed. Nabiki turned off the tape.  
Akane's throat felt tight. She'd had no idea. Reiko had been dry eyed and cold to her when she'd come to.   
"I snuck down and peeked in the doorway the next time you went down. She had your head in her lap and was just stroking your hair. When you started to stir, she quickly put you down and leaned against the wall."  
That was the image Akane had woken up to: Reiko's cold eyes staring down at her as she stood waiting for her to recover.   
"I... I had no idea." Akane said slowly.   
Nabiki nodded. "Now the big money question: Did she mean 'I love you' as in 'my dear, beloved friend', or as in 'my lesbian lover'?"  
"Shut up Nabiki! How can you make it sound so... dirty?"  
Nabiki raised an eyebrow. "Everyone has their own opinion on that. What's yours, and which way do you think she meant it?"  
Akane was silent as she sat on the steps. "I... don't know. I've been thinking about it ever since she said she's sworn off men. I'm not sure it matters a whole lot. Is there much of a difference between a beloved friend and a friendly beloved? The feelings aren't too different. I think the line between is pretty thin. And where is the line anyway?"  
"I suppose if you put it that way, the 'line' would be engaging in sexual activity."  
Akane sighed. "Even then, it's not for sure. If she loved me very much as a friend, and I asked for sex, it's not impossible to imagine her saying yes just to make me happy, if she cared about me that much."  
"Interesting that you made yourself the lesbian in that example, and not the other way around." Nabiki remarked.  
Akane frowned. "Shut up! I'm just trying to put myself in her shoes... if they are her shoes."  
Nabiki shrugged and keyed the tape back a bit, pressing play.  
"...this? Don't you know I'd have done anything you asked? Given you anything you wanted from me?" Stop.  
"Maybe the question you should be asking, little sister, is not if Reiko is gay, but are you?" Nabiki said quietly, before heading upstairs to bed.   
Akane sat on the stairs for a long time.   
  
Reiko lay on her futon with her back to the door, and Akane's bed. She wasn't sleeping. It wouldn't be safe to go to sleep until Akane came in and was asleep herself. The thought that she had to worry about _Akane_ of all people caused her throat to grow tight.   
The door opened, and Akane stepped in. Reiko heard her footsteps pause upon seeing Reiko apparently already asleep. The door closed quietly, and Akane didn't turn on the light. She stepped quietly around to the side of her bed, pulling back the covers. Reiko heard Akane pause and turn, looking down at her and probably noticing that Reiko had laid out her futon farther from the bed and Akane then she usually did.   
Reiko lay still and prayed that Akane would just go to sleep. She didn't want to fight Akane if she wanted to try and strangle her sensei in her sleep. The thought had occurred to Reiko a number of times when training under her father. Unfortunately, Taiyama Chimidoro had proven rather resistant to the murder attempts of tiny little girls. By the time she was fully-grown, Reiko had given up such attempts, as failure was punished very severely.   
She did not want to have to stop Akane from killing her. Not because she intended to react with dangerous force (painful yes, dangerous no) but because it would be the final proof that Akane hated her.  
Akane stepped toward Reiko's futon. Those two audible steps were the reason Reiko had increased the distance between where they slept. Reiko cried silently as she prepared to counter the attack.   
She was not prepared for Akane to step past and around her, coming down to kneel beside her face to face. Akane's warm brown eyes sparkled in the feint light, looking down into Reiko's black orbs. She didn't seem very surprised to find Reiko awake. Looking up into those eyes, Reiko knew this was not an assassination attempt.  
Mind you, she hadn't the damnedest idea what it _was_.  
"Reiko..." Akane smiled, as she slid down beside the dark girl. Reiko was surprised to find Akane's arms wrapping around her neck (well, surprised that it was a hug and not a chokehold).  
"Akane? What..."  
"Reiko, I don't hate you. I'm not going to hate you just because you're my sensei. I... I love you the same way you love me. And I'm not going to stop."   
"Akane!" Reiko sobbed, wrapping her arms around Akane's waist and sobbing into her shoulder. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry I hit you! I'm sorry I hurt you!"  
"Shh!" Akane said soothingly, trying to ignore the bruises Reiko was inadvertently squeezing. "_I'm_ sorry for asking you to hurt me. That must have been hard."  
"We sniff we don't have to keep going. I lied. You can quit if you want, I won't stop you. Then we can be friends again."  
"We're friends now, Reiko, and I don't want to quit. I still want this training, if you feel up to giving it to me."  
"I'd give you anything you wanted from me." Reiko said, quoting herself from earlier, unaware that Akane recognized the oath. "But... I don't want... I don't like hurting you."  
Akane thought about something she had once read in a book. It had been a novel about a girl who fell in love with a martial arts teacher, and joined his class. He was loving and considerate to her everywhere except the dojo. There, he was not the man she loved; he was Sensei. Sensei was cold, efficient, and had no respect for your pain. He was a damn good teacher.  
"I'll tell you what. You can be two different people. Reiko, and Sensei. When you're Reiko, you're my beloved friend, and you love me. When you're Sensei, you're training me to the best of your ability. I'm just your student, who you want to be the best she can be, so you can't go easy on her. And if I get mad at Sensei, I promise I won't get mad at Reiko for the same thing. How's that?"  
Reiko sniffed as she dried her eyes on the shoulder of Akane's pajamas. "I think I can handle that."  
Akane smiled and rubbed Reiko's back. "Good. Because I still want to be trained, I'm just not willing to give you up in exchange."  
They lay in each others arms for a while before Reiko spoke. "Akane, Sensei will be back sometime tomorrow, but for tonight, do you think Reiko could stay here, like this with you?"  
Akane giggled. "If you don't stop referring to yourself in the third person, you're going to get schizophrenic. Of course you can, but let's move up to my bed, huh? It's more comfortable then this tiny futon."  
Reiko smiled. "It's made thicker than the straw one I'm used to, but if you say so."  
They got up and lay together in Akane's bed, arms wrapped around each other.  
And yes, that's all they did together for the rest of the night.  
  
Which left Nabiki almost disappointed. The bug she'd placed in Akane's room long ago (soon after Ranma arrived) was active again. No sounds other then steady breathing came through her headphones for ten minutes, when the now-familiar sounds of Akane's soft snoring faintly made itself known. Reiko didn't snore (this was actually a result of special conditioning practiced within the Chimidoro clan for centuries, making it more difficult for an invading ninja to decide whether you were asleep or awake).  
The whole encounter (while heartwarming, if you liked that sort of thing) did not answer any of Nabiki's questions. While each had said that they loved the other, the two had not made love, and Akane's delightfully diplomatic statement, 'I love you the same way you love me', cleared nothing up. She had left it for Reiko to interpret it however she wished; if she loved Akane as a friend, Akane felt the same way; if she wanted Akane as a lover, Akane seemed willing to be that too.   
The ball had been tenderly bounced back into Reiko's court, which would have been fine if the girl had made a move, or if she had said 'I just want to be friends'. As it stood, nothing had been resolved, save that Akane's training was not going to hurt their relationship, and the two girls had grown closer together.  
But as WHAT? Nabiki wanted to scream. If her sister leaned that way, Nabiki could handle it. There would have to be a few changes (calming Daddy, the engagement to Ranma, explaining it to Daddy, handling rumors at school, consoling Daddy, making sure Kunou didn't get himself killed on Reiko's fists, keeping Daddy from throwing Reiko out... and did she mention that Daddy might be a problem?).  
But this... uncertainty, this sitting around in ignorance of Reiko, Akane, and how they fit together; this was going to drive Nabiki insane. She might have to throw a wrench into the works to force one or both of them to admit how they felt about each other.   
Heaven help her, she might even have to resort to something all her years of under-the-table, back door dealings told her was the wrong way to do things.  
She might have to walk up to Reiko and ask her.  
  
***  
  
Like I said, half done. That's it for now.  
  
***  
  
  



End file.
